| Session Title: What Counts as Credible Evidence in Contemporary Evaluation Practice? |
| Think Tank Session 505 to be held in Liberty Ballroom Section B on Friday, November 9, 9:25 AM to 10:10 AM |
| Sponsored by the Theories of Evaluation TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Stewart I Donaldson, Claremont Graduate University, stewart.donaldson@cgu.edu |
| Discussant(s): |
| Christina Christie, Claremont Graduate University, tina.christie@cgu.edu |
| Sandra Mathison, University of British Columbia, sandra.mathison@ubc.ca |
| Gary T Henry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, gthenry@email.unc.edu |
| George Julnes, Utah State University, gjulnes@cc.usu.edu |
| Debra Rog, Westat, debrarog@westat.com |
| Leonard Bickman, Vanderbilt University, leonard.bickman@vanderbilt.edu |
| Michael Scriven, Western Michigan University, scriven@aol.com |
| Sharon Rallis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, sharonr@educ.umass.edu |
| Thomas Schwandt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, tschwand@uiuc.edu |
| Jennifer Greene, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, jcgreene@uiuc.edu |
| Abstract: This session is designed to engage a fundamental issue facing evaluation practice today - what counts as sound evidence for decision making? A renowned group of evaluation scholars will serve as breakout group leaders and we will explore a wide range of issues that address the fundamental challenges of designing and executing high quality applied research and evaluation studies. Each of these leading scholars will offer diverse views about the range of evaluation methods that are likely to produce credible evidence that is both trustworthy and influential. The session facilitators will offer an introduction to the broad range of issues that will be addressed by each breakout session leader, setting the context for answering the question "what counts as evidence." Participants will leave this session with a new understanding of the philosophical, theoretical, methodological, political, and ethical dimensions of gathering credible evidence to answer fundamental evaluation questions across real world contexts. Evaluation scholars associated with this session: Gary Henry, George Julnes & Deborah Rog, Len Bickman, Michael Scriven, Sharon Rallis, Thomas Schwandt, Jennifer Greene, Sandra Mathison, and Mel Mark. |