Selecting Evaluation Methods Realistically

This article appeared in the GAO Review, Vol. 15, Issue 4, Fall 1980. GAO is required to: (1) evaluate programs carried on under existing law; (2) identify, develop, and recommend to Congress methods for evaluation; and (3) upon the request of congressional committees, assess evaluations prepared by or for executive agencies. Different views on evaluation methods need to be considered and the reasons for these differing views understood. Those who view evaluation as informational input to decisionmakers and their task as one of identifying program effects and relating those effects to causes are most likely to favor experimental methodologies. Those who view the evaluative role as one of providing continuous management assistance are more likely to use case study or other informal, less quantitative methods. Those who view their task as one of helping decisionmakers make decisions are more likely to use decision analysis methods. It seems desirable to accept each view as legitimate and to expect that they must coexist because, in many cases, the role of the evaluator is determined by decisionmakers and evaluation sponsors.