Exploring values in evaluation: A guide to reading
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| Author | Keryn Hassall |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X20915805 |
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X20915805
Evaluation Journal of Australasia
2020, Vol. 20(2) 109 –115
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1035719X20915805
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Exploring values in evaluation:
A guide to reading
Keryn Hassall
Aptavit, Australia
In this reading guide, I suggest a range of books for evaluators seeking to learn about
values and incorporate values in evaluation. Some are practical, others are philosophi-
cal and theoretical, and some blend theory and practice.
Learning about values in evaluation is not like learning a new technique or method.
It requires an understanding of what values are, how they are enacted in society, and
how to think critically about values at all points through an evaluation.
Values, and their proper role in social science, have been debated for more than a
century. Although many evaluators may reject the idea of value-free social science,
ambivalence about values is embedded in social science practice. Learning about val-
ues, and working with values in evaluation, may first require unlearning older ideas
about values and rethinking evaluation theories and practices informed by a contem-
porary understanding of values and their role in evaluative judgement.
First in the list are books that explain the history of values in social science and
provide new ways of thinking about values. Within the evaluation literature, there are
books rethinking the role of values in evaluation, evaluation approaches guided by
values, and practical guides to evaluation that include explicit discussion of values.
Outside the evaluation field, there is practical and theoretical literature relevant to our
challenges in evaluation. Evaluators can learn about methods for discussing and nego-
tiating values from the literature on deliberative practice. The values-based practice
movement in health and social care has resources that are relevant to evaluators, not
just in health care contexts. In public administration and public policy, there is a grow-
ing literature on public values, seeking to understand the values that represent the
broad public welfare in a democracy.
How do we think about values in social science?
The history of values in philosophy and social science may seem an esoteric subject,
but it sheds light on the difficulties we face when talking about values in evaluation.
Each of these four books provides a different and relevant perspective for evaluators.
915805EVJ0010.1177/1035719X20915805Evaluation Journal of AustralasiaBook Review
book-review2020
Book Review
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