Journal Articles

Towards rigorous practice: A framework for assessing naturalistic evaluations in the development sector

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This article reflects on the design and application of a framework for assessing the rigour of naturalistic evaluations in the development sector. The framework was employed in a review of a naturalistic evaluation ‘model’. It focused on the quality of evaluation results generated by the application of this model to outcome and impact assessments of development programmes. Naturalistic evaluation research is frequently portrayed as lacking in rigour, so we wanted to know whether the outcomes of development interventions could be assessed with an appropriate level of rigour when a naturalistic evaluation approach is used. The assessment entailed a meta-evaluation of five outcome/impact evaluations; these were undertaken by a Cape Town-based development consultancy over a four-year period. Using Lincoln and Guba’s trustworthiness criteria as the foundation for a meta-evaluation framework, we demonstrated that hallmarks of rigorous practice could be developed and applied to evaluations that employ a naturalistic evaluation model.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Evaluation

Call Number

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Publisher

Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications., 2017

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

13563890

Classification

NONE

Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 23, Issue 1, January 2017; pp. 102–120

Subject(s)

Development
Evaluation
Constructivist
Qualitative
criteria
naturalistic

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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