Types of evaluation from a philosophical perspective

From a philosophical perspective, there are no specific models for or methods of evaluation. You use the same methods and models but the required information is gathered from dif­ferent people or aspects depending upon the philosophy that you subscribe to. Stufflebeam and Shinkfield’s book Systematic Evaluation: A Self-Instructional Guide to Theory and Practice is an excellent source to acquaint you with these perspectives. Types of evaluation categorised on the basis of philosophies, mentioned below, are dealt with in greater detail in their book and it is highly recommended that you refer to that if you want to gain a better appreciation of these perspectives. On the basis of these perspectives, there are four types of evaluation. Again, you should keep in mind that this classification and the classification developed on the basis of the focus of evaluation are not mutually exclusive.

1. Goal-centred/objective-oriented evaluation

This approach is based upon the philosophy that the success or failure of an intervention should be based upon the extent of congruence between the objectives of an intervention and its actual outcomes. This approach studies outcomes to determine the achievement of objectives, and congruence between the two is regarded as the sole determinant of success or failure. One of the main criticisms of objective-oriented evaluation is that it assesses the effectiveness of a programme without explaining the reasons for it.

Basically, the process of evaluation involves, firstly, identification of the desired goals of an intervention and, secondly, the use of a process to measure their success or failure. Again, you can use either qualitative or quantitative methods to achieve this.

2. Consumer-oriented/client-centred evaluation

The core of this philosophy rests on the assumption that assessment of the value or merit of an intervention — including its effectiveness, outcomes, impact and relevance — should be judged from the perspective of the consumer. Consumers, according to the philosophy of consumer-oriented evaluation, are the best judges of a programme.

Client-centred evaluations, again, may use qualitative or quantitative methods to find out how clients feel about various aspects of an intervention. You can even use a mix of the two to find out consumers’ perceptions and opinions.

3. Improvement-oriented evaluation

The basic philosophy behind improvement-oriented evaluation is that an evaluation should foster improvement. ‘Not to prove but to improve’ seems to be the central theme of such evaluations. The focus is to study the context in order to help improve an intervention content — the process rather than outcomes.

Again, a multiplicity of methods can be used to undertake such evaluation.

4. Holistic/illuminative evaluation

The primary concern of holistic research or illuminative evaluation is description and interpretation, rather than measurement and prediction. It fits with the social-anthropological paradigm, acknowledging as it does historical, cultural and social factors when evaluating an intervention. The aim is to study a programme in all its aspects: how it operates, how it is influ­enced by various contexts, how it is applied, how those directly involved view its strengths and weaknesses, and what the experiences are of those who are affected by it. In summary, it tries to illuminate a complex array of questions, issues and factors, and to identify procedures that give both desirable and undesirable results. So a holistic/illuminative evaluation tries to understand issues relating to an intervention from many perspectives: it seeks to view the performance of a programme in its totality.

An evaluation can be conducted from any one of the above philosophical perspectives. To us, these are perspectives rather than evaluation models, but some use them as types of evalu­ation. The aim of this section has been to acquaint you with some of these perspectives.

Source: Kumar Ranjit (2012), Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, SAGE Publications Ltd; Third edition.