Ethical decision-making in evaluation
| Published date | 01 September 2007 |
| Date | 01 September 2007 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X0700700206 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
40 Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2007
While ethical concerns are a central issue in evaluation,
few evaluators have formal training in this area
and consensus has not been reached about what
evaluators seek in regard to ethics. In this article,
different approaches to ethical review are described,
drawing from: existing research on how evaluators
currently deal with these concerns; the formal process
put forward by Australia’s National Health and Medical
Research Council, and theoretical models of decision-
making. Findings from a regional forum on ethics and
evaluation, which was held in Melbourne in 2006, are
also reported. The Australasian Evaluation Society
should continue to promote discussion on ethics to
further the knowledge and skills of evaluators and the
AES may also have a role in educating human research
ethics committees, to increase their capacity to respond
appropriately to evaluation proposals.
Ethics and evaluation
Ethics is a central issue in evaluation. Balzer (2004, p. 2) explored the elements of
‘successful evaluation’ via an Internet survey involving 442 respondents, from 46
countries. The majority of respondents were located in the USA (52 per cent), while
notable groups were in Australia (5 per cent), Canada (4.8 per cent), England (3.8
per cent), and Sweden (3.6 per cent). Respondents were described as ‘evaluation
experts’, involving people who are: major stakeholders within an evaluation project,
those with important experience in the academic and/or practical fi eld of evaluation,
and/or people who conduct evaluation work. Almost all respondents had current or
past experience of conducting evaluations, usually involving programs or treatment
interventions. They identifi ed that the ‘consideration of ethics’ was an absolute
necessity in the process of implementing an evaluation (Balzer 2004, p. 12).
The Australasian Evaluation Society (AES 1997, 2002) has an established
ethics committee that has developed guidelines on ethical conduct in evaluation
for members. In 2003 the AES Ethics Committee explored member perspectives
on ethical issues and needs using an Internet survey. One hundred and thirty
Lynda Berends
Lynda Berends is a Senior Research
Fellow in Health Services Research
at the Turning Point Alcohol and
Drug Centre, Melbourne.
Email: <lynda.berends@
turningpoint.org.au>
ethics &evaluation
Ethical decision-making
in evaluation
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