Evaluation Ethics for Best Practice: Cases and Commentaries

From The Critics

Reviewer: Christopher J. Graver, PhD, ABPP-CN(Madigan Healthcare System)
Description: For those in the fields of evaluation research, community psychology, and public policy who are familiar with program evaluation, this book focuses on the ethical challenges that may arise in completing such work.
Purpose: The main intent is to provide concrete examples of ethical challenges in program evaluation, as well as expert opinions on how to handle these challenges.
Audience: The book is targeted at anyone involved in program evaluation, but will mostly include professionals and students from the above-mentioned disciplines. The editor and contributing authors hail from academic backgrounds in related fields that put them in an ideal position to comment on this topic.
Features: This book is written at a level that anticipates some background knowledge of program evaluation. Each chapter begins with a description of the program to be evaluated, then has discussions of ethical issues and looks towards the Guiding Principles (which are in an appendix) for insight. Areas where the Guiding Principles are not helpful are also surveyed. Different authors chime in with comments about the situation, analysis of issues, and suggestions for ways to overcome these challenges. This is done for each stage of the program evaluation from the initial contract to utilizing the results. Readers will find little in the way of figures or tables; the interminable text can become tedious.
Assessment: Although readers will find some ethical challenges in this book, it is more of a best-practice volume than a survey of ethical confrontation. It may be useful to some seeking guidance for common problems, but it also may be a bit insipid.

From the Publisher

"A thoughtful, thorough approach. The book is well written, covers very important topics in the area of evaluation and assessment, and uses a creative approach to identify salient ethical issues in evaluation. Each chapter can stand alone, and some or all of them would be a wonderful supplement to a text for a course on evaluation."--John H. Schuh, Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Iowa State University

"I really like the author's approach. Probably the most powerful aspect is the concrete, real-life scenarios that bring the subject matter to life. I can't say enough about how much is to be gained from this approach. I think the scenario exercises are a real stroke of genius, in that they allow the student to anticipate and to think ahead about what to do."--Geni Cowan, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, California State University, Sacramento

"This book is a great introduction to ethical dilemmas faced not only by evaluators, but also by their client organizations. The beauty of it is that it provides an opportunity to work out the different facets of how we do our work. Beyond the nuts and bolts of what to do, this book makes us think about how we do it. It encourages us to think it through and make decisions that support the integrity of evaluation."--Geni Cowan, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, California State University, Sacramento

"This book is a great way for students to learn the complexities of evaluation ethics in real-world settings! Realistic case studies with responses by different evaluators--both academics and practitioners--illustrate ethical dilemmas that can arise at every stage of the evaluation, and show how even experienced evaluators differ in the approaches and actions they take in each case. Other cases, without responses, give students the opportunity to practice their own skills."--Jody L. Fitzpatrick, coauthor of Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines; Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado at Denver

"As evaluation practitioners know all too well, evaluation is a highly political activity. As such, it is fraught with ethical dilemmas. Morris and his colleagues are to be congratulated for providing the field with a comprehensive, thought-provoking, highly practical, and very useable book on the topic of evaluation ethics. The book’s organization takes us through the stages of evaluation practice, providing concise and relevant case scenarios that have few simple answers, yet lend critical insights into what one might do in a given situation. Particularly helpful are the guiding and 'What If' questions, which are excellent tools to facilitate conversations with students, colleagues, and evaluation clients. This book should be on every evaluator's bookshelf."--Hallie Preskill, School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University; 2007 President, American Evaluation Association "Morris has enlisted a seasoned cadre of evaluators to reflect on his evocatively crafted ethical dilemmas. Leaving ponderous prose behind, the contributors write in an engaging, personal style as they weigh alternative courses of action in each scenario. The result is a lively journey through evaluation's ethical landscape that is also a genuinely instructive read."--Jennifer Greene, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"This is an exceptionally thought-provoking book for students and practitioners at all levels. It was an informative, entertaining, and engaging read. I had a hard time putting it down. Students in my introductory program evaluation class reported that the cases in the book brought the AEA's Guiding Principles to life and helped them better understand the ethical (and other types of) decision making at the heart of evaluation practice. Reflecting on these cases helped these students prepare for effective evaluation practice."--Donald B. Yarbrough, Director, Center for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Iowa

"In the spirit of 'Ethical Challenges,' his well-known regular feature in the American Journal of Evaluation, Morris has assembled an interesting and compelling set of challenge scenarios and responses from leading contributors to the professional knowledge base. This book is a delightful addition to the shelves of evaluation practitioners and students. Morris walks us through ethical challenges and dilemmas associated with all aspects of the process, from planning evaluations to using their results. The thematic round up of cross-cutting issues in the final chapter moves the profession forward in realistic and thoughtful ways. Bravo!"--J. Bradley Cousins, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Editor, Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation