Making values explicit in evaluation practice

Abstract

Values play a fundamental role in the evaluation process; however, evaluators and evaluation training have tended to focus on research methodology. Much less emphasis has been placed on explicit attention to values and valuing, and the steps necessary to justify those aspects of evaluation conclusions. In this article, we argue that to improve evaluation practice, we need to make values an explicit part of the evaluation process. Research done in other disciplines can offer assistance towards this end. We first provide a general discussion of basic practical applications of value theories. Then, we offer an example for how a particular individual values theory, Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values, can inform our work and encourage further exploration of approaches for incorporating value theories into evaluation practice.