This month the Atlanta-area Evaluation Association journal club will discuss “What Is Evaluation? Perspectives of How Evaluation Differs (or Not) From Research” by Dana Wanzer.
The abstract is below:
With a lack of consensus of what evaluation is within the field of evaluation, there is a difficulty in communicating to nonevaluators what evaluation is and how evaluation differs from research. To understand how evaluation is defined, both evaluators and researchers were asked how they defined evaluation and, if at all, differentiated evaluation from research. Overall, evaluators believed research and evaluation intersect, whereas researchers believed evaluation is a subcomponent of research. Furthermore, evaluators perceived greater differences between evaluation and research than researchers did, particularly in characteristics relevant at the beginning (e.g., purpose, questions, audience) and end (e.g., rendering value judgments, disseminating results) of studies. This study suggests that greater consensus on a definition of evaluation is needed to be able to distinguish the field and discipline of evaluation from related fields and to be able to communicate this information to nonevaluators
Link to the article:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098214020920710
The journal club meets the third Wednesday of every month to discuss new and innovative evaluation topics.
AaEA’s monthly journal club features an evaluation article from evaluation journals and the gray literature. The purpose of these meetings is to offer an easy way for people to get a brief review of new topics, tools, and issues in the evaluation community. You are not required to read the article, but, try to if you can. So hop on the phone and sip your favorite beverage while listening to a summary of the article and joining in the discussion.
The event is free for AaEA members, non-members, and for students/interns/fellows. Not yet a member? Join AaEA at the event or athttps://atl-eval.wildapricot.org ($40 for professionals and $25 for students, interns, and fellows) For event or membership information, please contact eventsaaea@gmail.com or membershipaaea@gmail.com
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Meeting ID: 323 405 496
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