Everyday Evaluation on the Run by Yoland Wadsworth

Author:Yoland Wadsworth [Wadsworth, Yoland]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Anthropology, General, Research
ISBN: 9781315428840
Google: 6MlmDAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-06-16T03:23:11+00:00

Here you are starting to generate as full as possible a description of what is done and why. Now ask, for each element, how the critical reference group seems to be responding or what they are getting out of it. Only when you have exhausted this, shift to what you were trying to achieve—your intentions, rationale, purposes, ‘objectives’, standards and hoped-for logical outcomes (as opposed to what people actually seem to get out of it). You will probably find that much of what people did (or didn’t) get out of it will relate to your intentions (you’d have done a less effective job of your previous ‘research’ if that were not the case!).

However, you might—by suspending these expectations in an ‘open inquiry’ mode—have noticed that people were getting something else out of it that you hadn’t planned or realised (or getting more out of some things and valuing other things less than you would have thought). Or that it turns out their situation wasn’t exactly as you’d thought or imagined. Or that they’d had previous experiences that shaped them in ways about which you weren’t aware. You can then move to adjust or adapt what you are doing (or revise your theory, goals and logic, and perhaps even revisit your deeper purposes of your activities. For example, the physiotherapist may find that, in describing what she thinks the women using her exercise classes are getting out of them (or what she hopes they will get out of them), she finds herself ‘forgetting’ to mention the exercises! The exercises may have become effective means to all sorts of other related ends, rather than being the most centrally important ends in themselves. Or they may remain a focus or achieving health, but physical health is now seen as part of a much more holistic way of thinking about health.

Moving beyond what you already know (just from searching your memory), you might want to ‘touch base’ with your end-users in a more systematic and comprehensive way. Here, you will do best to build on the kinds of ways people already use to express their own personal evaluations. You might ask the whole group to discuss the value of the sessions. You will undoubtedly get some good feedback (but it may be the ‘yay’ factor again). So ask people to suggest improvements, or mention some of your own doubts or hunches, then listen carefully for people’s responses. Check also with a sharp eye any who are quiet, or who seem ambivalent or reluctant. Maybe catch them later and say how you were really looking for ways to improve the sessions and you noticed them looking thoughtful so are they sure they can’t suggest anything at all? (It often ‘loosens up’ evaluation if you ask about how to change or improve things, rather than just what people think of them as they are now. People’s valuations are then implicit in their suggestions.) Ask several of the more articulate to judge how they think others saw it—again stressing your need for any observations that might help you.

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