Evaluation Theory

Evaluation research is used to measure the effectiveness of different aspects of practice, such as a project, a policy or a partnership. This involves identifying objectives and then measuring progress towards them. Evaluation research today usually focuses on finding out 'what works, for whom, in what circumstances, and why?' (Pawson and Tilley 1997). It is solution-focused and will include recommendations for improvement.

There are a number of theoretical approaches to evaluation research, which can be broadly divided into positivist, constructivist and realist approaches. Put very simply, the positivist approach advocates developing a hypothesis, collecting primarily quantitative data, and using this to test the hypothesis and evolve a theory. The constructivist approach focuses on the need to explore the way in which people make sense of their experiences, and therefore primarily uses qualitative data, with theory evolving as data is collected. The realist approach assumes that the evaluator already has a theory about 'what works, for whom, in what circumstances, and why', and will use this - and other theoretical perspectives - to design the research. Realist evaluators are likely to collect data from a range of sources, including quantitative, qualitative and documentary data, and will develop their theory as the evaluation research progresses.

We take a realist theoretical approach to evaluation.