The purpose of this study was to explore how evaluators justify using story-based methodologies when examining causality. The two primary research questions of the study included: 1) what arguments are made by evaluators to justify the credibility of story-based causal methodologies to evaluation stakeholders; and 2) from the perspective of…

This study challenges persistent misrepresentations of evaluation as a value-neutral inquiry process by presenting an empirical study that deepens understanding of evaluators' values and how they "show up" in evaluation practice. Through semistructured interviews and inductive analysis, we examined the values advanced by a sample of…

Extending previous research on the Computers Are Social Actors paradigm and the human-to-human interaction script, this study examines the interpersonal impressions of a social robot evaluator versus a human evaluator in a performance evaluation context. A between-subjects experiment was conducted to measure participants' impressions of the…

Two competing approaches to policy analysis are distinguished: a credibility approach, and a truth approach. According to the credibility approach, the policy analyst's role is to search for plausible argument rather than truth. Each approach has pragmatic tradeoffs in fulfilling the goal of providing usable knowledge to decision makers. (TJH)

This research describes, classifies, and comparatively evaluates national models and mechanisms used to evaluate research and allocate research funding in 16 countries. Although these models and mechanisms vary widely in terms of how research is evaluated and financed, nearly all share the common characteristic of relating funding to some measure…

Chelimsky, former head of the Program Evaluation and Methodology Division of the General Accounting Office, suggested that advocacy by evaluators destroys their credibility. Evaluators should, this author argues, be advocates for democracy and the public interest, with the question being how explicitly and how defensibly. (SLD)

Selected aspects of the problem of obtaining unbiased program or product evaluation are discussed. An evaluator who is a member of the project staff will have difficulty producing an evaluation which is credible and valid. Project monitors will also have a problem since they are often required to assume the conflicting roles of external evaluator…

Evaluators need new strategies that will support their commitment to science and at the same time preserve the objectivity of the evaluation. The article discusses three strategies, dealing with: philosophical foundations, the subjectivity of the "objects" of the studies, and the subjectivity of the observer. (Author/GDC)

Discusses evaluation in terms of what can be expected, changes in the use of evaluation methods, and the importance of evaluation credibility. Notes that evaluation has improved in practice and in decision-maker support for it; credible evaluations are now typically incorporated into policy and have become a routine organizational practice. (AEF)

As with all media, the Internet structures and frames information, rewarding some information search and decision behaviors while punishing others and, thereby, strongly influences evaluation research results and possibilities. Now that the Internet is for many evaluators the information medium of choice, the impacts of the medium on evaluation…

The Internet is a significant information resource for students due to the ease of access it allows to a vast amount of information. As the quality of the information on the Internet varies, it is important that students are able to evaluate such information critically. The aim of the study was to investigate how students evaluate Internet sources…

Four key entities participating in foreign assistance projects are (1) donors; (2) technical advisors; (3) host country counterparts; and (4) beneficiaries. Resistance to collaborative evaluation that each may exhibit is discussed, along with ways evaluators can overcome resistance and enhance evaluation outcomes, credibility, and utilization.…

In 1999, the staff of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) of the Virginia General Assembly (the state legislature) completed a review of the Virginia Board of Medicine that found problems with the process used to regulate physicians and recommended major changes to a system that had remained relatively unchanged for almost…

An optimistic view of the potential of evaluation to be a force for social improvement is presented. The most important unfinished task for evaluation may be to expand the logic of value judgments. In addition, the social usefulness of evaluation will depend on its credibility and the professionalism of evaluators. (SLD)

Evaluation procedures and programs in the Cincinnati, Ohio school system, the role of local school evaluators, and the models for school evaluation--based on high, moderate, or low trust--are described. Evaluators serve local schools in formative and summative evaluation projects, in assessing needs, and in meeting them. (MH)