Research on Evaluation (RoE) TIG Week: Navigating the Maze: A Graduate Student’s Exploration in Research on Evaluation by Padma Kannan

Date: Friday, June 13, 2025

I am Padma Kannan, Ph.D., working as an Evaluation and Research Specialist at the University of Minnesota’s Extension. I earned my Ph.D. in Evaluation Studies within the Organizational Leadership and Policy Development (OLPD) program at UMN, focusing on Research on Evaluation (RoE). Today, I want to share insights and lessons learned as a graduate student, exploring the process of RoE topics and questions.

My journey as a graduate student on RoE combined enthusiasm, inquiries, and illuminating experiences. The crucial choice was selecting a topic that holds relevance and aligns with my values, keeping me motivated over five years. As an evaluator in the Global South and North for over 15 years, I am interested in exploring evaluation practices and their use for learning. I approach my work through the question, “what is working for whom and in what ways and to what extent?” My interest in equity stems from working with underserved communities, helping me understand the value of diverse perspectives. Studying equity was challenging as it is complex, nuanced and could have varied meaning for different people, with much scholarship based on philosophy rather than practitioner’s voices/data.

The question became: How do I get started? I turned to the Why Ladder technique to delve deeper. The “Why Ladder” is a technique used in psychology to uncover deeper motivations and values behind actions or goals by repeatedly asking “why” questions. Using this method helped me gain a profound understanding of my authentic values and make aligned choices. The ‘Why’ ladder revealed how my positionality, values, experiences, and interests guided me in selecting a specific area.

“Why” Question	Reasonable Response
Why Is having that common base important to advance?	Because For us as a field that is the beginning to talk to each other, learn together and move forward and do RoE together
Why Is it important for us as a field to understand what equity means and looks like?	Because We need to have some common base to initiate conversation on what we should be doing as a field to advance equity
Why Is it important for us to explore the meaning and practice aspect?	Because As a field, if we want to move in the direction of equity, we need to better understand what it means for us and how it looks in practice. (This feels like a starting point for our field!)
Why Is it important for you to learn about equity as an evaluator while working with communities?	Because I want to understand and explore what it means as a practice in evaluation
Why Is understanding equity in evaluation important or necessary?	Because It is important for me as an evaluator working with communities that can easily be tokenized

Lessons Learned: The Human Aspects of RoE

Listening to other RoE researchers’ experiences is crucial for steering research. Their insights helped me learn about impact and overcome hurdles. Understanding the purpose – ‘Why”: This helped align my personal values with the RoE topic I care about and shaped my understanding.

Hot Tips

Maintain a log of research questions: Write questions as you read literature and identify gaps. Keep a record of your research question while exploring literature, similar to how Bench Sciences colleagues use a Log/Lab Book. Observing how questions evolve over months of literature reviews offers insights into the clarity of your research questions.

Engage with peers to discuss questions and significance: This helps gain clarity and reaffirm topic importance and describe it to others. Such discussions build confidence in articulating thoughts and making persuasive arguments about your work’s importance to different audiences.

The American Evaluation Association is hosting Research on Evaluation (ROE) Topical Interest Group Week. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our ROE TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.