Evaluation as Scientific Research
- 1 October 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Evaluation Review
- Vol. 12 (5) , 467-482
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841x8801200501
Abstract
Ideal characteristics of a well established area of scientific inquiry are parsimony, generality, coherence, uniqueness, clarity of boundaries, and potential for cumulative inquiry. The role of evaluation as grazing area for varied species of social science and the entrepreneurial environments of practice have led it to try to define itself by method and/or process, neither of which holds promise of developing the desired properties. Valuation, on the other hand shows real promise as disciplinary core, as shown by the research agendas that can be generated from it. To make use of this construct, evaluators must be aware of the fallacies of the fact-value dichotomy and of confusing ethical neutrality with objectivity.Keywords
This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Risk Assessment as Social ResearchPublished by Springer Nature ,1987
- Social ExperimentationPublished by University of Chicago Press ,1985
- Evaluation ResearcherJournal of Social Service Research, 1983
- Technology Assessment, Facts and ValuesPublished by Springer Nature ,1983
- The Evaluation of Social PoliciesPublished by Springer Nature ,1982
- Perceived risk: psychological factors and social implicationsProceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1981
- Coronary Artery Surgery: The Use of Decision AnalysisAnnals of Internal Medicine, 1976
- Obstacles to Shifting from the Descriptive to the Analytic Approach in Teaching Social ServicesJournal of Education for Social Work, 1969