TY - JOUR
T1 - Findings From an Empirical Exploration of Evaluators’ Values
AU - LaVelle, John M.
AU - Stephenson, Clayton L.
AU - Donaldson, Scott I.
AU - Hackett, Justin D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2024/3
Y1 - 2024/3
N2 - Psychological theory suggests that evaluators’ individual values and traits play a fundamental role in evaluation practice, though few empirical studies have explored those constructs in evaluators. This paper describes an empirical study on evaluators’ individual, work, and political values, as well as their personality traits to predict evaluation practice and methodological orientation. The results suggest evaluators value benevolence, achievement, and universalism; they lean socially liberal but are slightly more conservative on fiscal issues; and they tend to be conscientious, agreeable, and open to new experiences. In the workplace, evaluators value competence and opportunities for growth, as well as status and independence. These constructs did not statistically predict evaluation practice, though some workplace values and individual values predicted quantitative methodological orientation. We conclude by discussing strengths, limitations, and next steps for this line of research.
AB - Psychological theory suggests that evaluators’ individual values and traits play a fundamental role in evaluation practice, though few empirical studies have explored those constructs in evaluators. This paper describes an empirical study on evaluators’ individual, work, and political values, as well as their personality traits to predict evaluation practice and methodological orientation. The results suggest evaluators value benevolence, achievement, and universalism; they lean socially liberal but are slightly more conservative on fiscal issues; and they tend to be conscientious, agreeable, and open to new experiences. In the workplace, evaluators value competence and opportunities for growth, as well as status and independence. These constructs did not statistically predict evaluation practice, though some workplace values and individual values predicted quantitative methodological orientation. We conclude by discussing strengths, limitations, and next steps for this line of research.
KW - evaluation
KW - research on evaluation
KW - theory-practice
KW - values
KW - values-practice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127766484&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/10982140211046537
DO - 10.1177/10982140211046537
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85127766484
SN - 1098-2140
VL - 45
SP - 6
EP - 28
JO - American Journal of Evaluation
JF - American Journal of Evaluation
IS - 1
ER -