How Evaluators Can Use a Complex Systems Lens to Get 'Untrapped' From Limiting Beliefs and Assumptions
| Autor: | Patricia Jessup, Marah Moore, Beverly Parsons |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Program evaluation
Health (social science) Sociology and Political Science Social Psychology Computer science Strategy and Management 05 social sciences Complex system 050401 social sciences methods 050301 education Limiting Education law.invention Lens (optics) 0504 sociology Work (electrical) law Human–computer interaction Evaluation methods Business and International Management 0503 education |
| Zdroj: | American Journal of Evaluation. 40:75-91 |
| ISSN: | 1557-0878 1098-2140 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1098214018756578 |
| Popis: | Evaluators are becoming increasingly aware that, to provide maximum benefit to the programs they evaluate, they must address the systems within which the programs work. However, evaluation practice is often influenced by beliefs and assumptions that are rooted in an understanding of these systems as stable and predictable. We identify four traps that can limit the usefulness of program evaluations when the instability and uncertainty of systems are not acknowledged. We explore how evaluators can get “untrapped” by using a complex systems lens to interrogate their beliefs and assumptions about (1) the purpose of the evaluation, (2) the definition of the evaluand and boundaries of the evaluation, (3) leveraging controlled evaluation methodologies to learn about complex systems, and (4) the meaning of “going to scale.” From our work on a national cross-site evaluation, we provide examples of ways a complex systems lens can increase the merit, worth, and significance of program evaluations. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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