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Exploring the Value of Institutional Ethnography for Context in Evaluation
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| Presenter(s):
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| Jean Eells, E Resources Group, jceells@wmtel.net
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| Abstract:
Institutional ethnography methodology orients investigation from a standpoint location and requires systematic and frequent attention to context as an investigator proceeds. An institutional ethnography approach was used in evaluative research of local, state, and federal governmental agencies and non-profit organizations in Midwest states. Document analysis, field observation, and interviews were used to examine a gap in participation in services by women. This approach follows pathways of service delivery or policy implementation within and between institutions - an evaluation of participation in an institutional process. Context drawn from lived experience is an essential evaluative criterion that guides the investigator using this approach. Institutional ethnography methodology in this case greatly minimized defensive reactions by the agencies and their personnel, and also fostered action on recommendations or evaluation use. Discussion includes implications for participatory evaluation and for evaluation practice.
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Women's Oral Histories: Using Biographical Method in Constructing a New Historical Perspective
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| Presenter(s):
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| Hasmik Gevorgyan, Yerevan State University, vstarm@arminco.com
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| Yeva Avakyan, World Vision US, yavakyan@worldvision.org
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| Abstract:
This presentation is based on an oral history research conducted with over one hundred Armenian women of different age groups. The book by Dr Hasmik Gevorgyan that this research resulted in (The Art of Being: history of the 20th century), is a historical retrospective of events that shook the country of Armenia in the past century. It includes personal reflections of the lives of women, their families and the social setting in which these events take place. Recording individual experiences of social change and merging social and personal problems, it creates a new meaning, a new perspective on history by Armenian women, whose take on history is rarely documented.
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