 Visualizing context through theory deconstruction: A content analysis of three bodies of evaluation theory literatureAnne T. Vo Evaluation and Program Planning, 2013, vol. 38, issue C, 44-52 Abstract: While the evaluation field collectively agrees that contextual factors bear on evaluation practice and related scholarly endeavors, the discipline does not yet have an explicit framework for understanding evaluation context. To address this gap in the knowledge base, this paper explores the ways in which evaluation context has been addressed in the practical-participatory, values-engaged, and emergent realist evaluation literatures. Five primary dimensions that constitute evaluation context were identified for this purpose: (1) stakeholder; (2) program; (3) organization; (4) historical/political; and (5) evaluator. Journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers rooted in the selected evaluation approaches were compared along these dimensions in order to explore points of convergence and divergence in the theories. Study results suggest that the selected prescriptive theories most clearly explicate stakeholder and evaluator contexts. Programmatic, organizational, and historical/political contexts, on the other hand, require further clarification. Keywords: Context; Descriptive theory; Logic model; Prescriptive theory; Research on evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:38:y:2013:i:c:p:44-52 DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2012.03.013 Access Statistics for this article Evaluation and Program Planning is currently edited by Jonathan A. Morell More articles in Evaluation and Program Planning from Elsevier |
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