12 - Qualitative Inquiry in Evaluation: An Introduction to Core Concepts and Data Collection Methods

Abstract Information: This workshop introduces core concepts that provide an important foundation for the use of qualitative methods in evaluation. Three primary data collection methods are featured: individual interviewing, participant observation, and document review. Partner and small group activities are woven throughout the session to develop participants’ knowledge and skills in gathering data via these methods. Group discussions explore essential ethical and methodological considerations, including the practice of reflexivity to examine one’s positionality and subjectivity and to foster cultural humility and inclusivity. In addition, the workshop presents a practitioner-friendly conceptual model that illuminates five processes for enhancing the quality of qualitative evaluations and can serve as a valuable touchstone for future evaluation efforts. (Please note that due to the inherent constraints of a six-hour introductory workshop, along with the scope of the featured topics, data analysis is not covered in this session.)

Relevance Statement: Qualitative inquiry is now central to evaluation practice. Some evaluation projects use qualitative methods exclusively, and countless evaluation efforts combine qualitative and quantitative methods (Goodyear, Jewiss, Usinger, & Barela, 2014; Patton, 2014). However, many students of evaluation and practicing evaluators find that their academic coursework and previous professional development opportunities have not provided a solid grounding in qualitative inquiry in evaluation. This workshop is designed to help fill some of that gap by providing an introduction to core concepts and three prominent qualitative data collection methods.

Core concepts featured in this workshop address essential epistemological underpinnings of qualitative inquiry. The use of qualitative methods without this foundational understanding is limited at best and potentially problematic. Even those of us who were fortunate to learn from and work alongside leading qualitative scholars and practitioners stand to benefit from revisiting these epistemological underpinnings and considering implications for our current practice.

The three featured data collection methods are individual interviewing, participant observation, and document review. These three methods were selected due to their frequent use, practical utility, varied procedures, and appropriateness for an introductory workshop. I draw from the vast methodological literature to share insights that have meaningfully informed my own evaluation practice and that of students and colleagues I have advised. Throughout the day, group discussions and activities enable workshop participants to deepen their learning and build their skills in ways that complement knowledge they may gain through their own explorations of the methodological literature, including a carefully curated list of resources provided following the workshop.

The practice of reflexivity is introduced as a critical means of examining one’s positionality and subjectivity and thereby fostering cultural humility and inclusivity. The workshop also presents a conceptual model, which was developed by a team of seasoned qualitative evaluators and informed by case examples and words of wisdom shared by colleagues (Goodyear, Jewiss, Usinger, & Barela, 2014). The model illuminates five processes for enhancing the quality of qualitative evaluations and encompasses many of the key points featured throughout the workshop. Given the Evaluation 2023 Conference theme, The Power of Story in Evaluation, a professional development offering on qualitative inquiry in evaluation is particularly apropos. As we know, stories, small and large, are often at the heart of the perspectives that study participants share within qualitative evaluations.

Goodyear, L., Jewiss, J., Usinger, J. & Barela, E. (2014). Qualitative inquiry in evaluation: From theory to practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Patton M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.