162 - Values in Evaluation Practice: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract Information: Values are the heart of evaluation. They inform how a problem is defined, questions that are asked, how evaluators interact with stakeholders and the methods they implement, what is viewed as valuable or credible evidence, and the process for determining the merit, worth, or significance of a program or policy. Yet, as evaluation scholars have indicated over the last few decades, research examining and providing practical guidance on values has been limited, despite their centrality to the field (Coryn et al., 2017). This poster presents findings from a mixed-methods study that involved a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature over the last 10 years and results from a cross-sectional survey asking evaluation practitioners and students about their experiences with valuing and knowledge of different resources for working with values in evaluation. This rapid review is the first of its kind, and combined with survey results, provides insight into the current state of values in the field. This work raises several important questions. For example, what is the baseline knowledge that evaluation practitioners should have about working with values and engaging others in the valuing process? What resources need to be created to assist students and practitioners in making evaluative judgments or otherwise working with values? Coryn, C., Wilson, L.N., Westine, C.D., Hobson, K.A., Ozeki, S., Fiekowsky, E.L., Greenman, G.D., Schroter, D. (2017). A decade of research on Evaluation: A systematic review of research on evaluation published between 2005 and 2014. American Journal of Evaluation, 38(3), 329-347.

Relevance Statement: This year’s conference theme, the power of story, is deeply connected to the proposed session’s topic. How we view others’ stories, and make sense of our own, are imbued with values. Values are guides to our decisions, as evaluators, students, and in our everyday lives, and serve as a compass for how we make sense of the world. This can be seen by their mention in guiding ethics and competencies for the evaluation field, as seen in the American Evaluation Association’s Guiding Principles and Evaluator Competencies, in addition to their appearance in the Joint Committee on Standards and Evaluations. Examining our own values and how they show up in our practice and education is critical to upholding these guiding ethical and competency frameworks, in addition to serving communities without doing further harm. This poster encourages not only a reflection on values and valuing in the field, but how this impacts ourselves and others whose stories we are often responsible for sharing and voicing.