Evaluation in Today’s World. Veronica G. Thomas
activities that are knowingly harmful to clients or to public health or safety (e.g., poor food-handling practices) can also pose an ethical dilemma for the evaluator. Here, evaluators must determine whether there is an ethical imperative to “blow the whistle” on the activity in order to protect the public (Mathison, 2007).
It is noteworthy to mention that evaluators do not always agree whether a particular situation represents an ethical dilemma. Many times, the lines between ethical and unethical ways of responding can be blurred or ambiguous. In such situations, the evaluator must make a judgment call, which, of course, is done through his or her own cultural lens. In ambiguous situations, the course of action taken will be a function of how the evaluator interprets the situation. Morris and Jacobs (2000) had a national sample of evaluators respond to a case vignette in which the evaluator assembles a widely representative advisory group for a project but does not actively involve group members in the evaluation process. Their findings indicate that 39 percent of the sample regarded the evaluator’s failure to involve stakeholders actively in the advisory group as “definitely” or “probably” ethically problematic; 49 percent of the sample believed that the evaluator’s behavior was “definitely not” or “probably not” ethically problematic; and 12 percent were “unsure.” Thus, one evaluator’s ethical dilemma may be viewed by another evaluator as a political problem, a philosophical disagreement, or a methodological concern (Morris, 2008).
Handling Ethical Dilemmas
Evaluators are frequently faced with ethical dilemmas at some or all parts of the evaluation process. An ethical dilemma occurs when the evaluators have uncertainty about the proper or right thing to do because there is conflict between two or more valid and morally acceptable options such that making one choice prevents selection of the other. The complexity of an ethical dilemma arises out of a situational conflict or paradox between two possible ethical imperatives, in which obeying one would result in transgressing another. For example, focusing on the common good might result in failing to reveal malfeasance that could result in the elimination of a program and job loss for community-based staff who were not at fault. Here, there is not a definitive, clear correct response—as may become evident to readers after reviewing the dilemma in the following case study.
Case Study: Revising the Evaluation Report
This case was taken from work reported by Morris and Jacobs (2000). It involves a request for an evaluator to tone down the negatives of a report in order to make the program appear more flattering. The evaluation’s sponsor and primary client is a philanthropic foundation that is the major source of funding for the program. Review the scenario and answer the five questions posed at the end of the case.
Scenario
An evaluator has recently shared the draft of a final report with the director of the program being evaluated. After reviewing the draft, the program director asks the evaluator to tone down one section of the report that describes some operational problems within the program. The director believes that the findings in this section, although accurate, are presented in a way that could cause readers to overlook the overall success of the program’s implementation.
The evaluator reexamines the draft and concludes that the findings on operational problems have been reported in a fair and balanced fashion. Nevertheless, the evaluator wishes to be responsive to the director’s concerns. The evaluator revises the section in question, mainly by deleting a number of harshly worded quotes concerning operational difficulties that were voiced by interview and survey respondents.
What is the ethical course of action?
Imagine that you are the evaluator referred to in this case. First, identify why this situation poses an ethical dilemma for the evaluator.
Answer the following questions, adapted from Newman and Brown (1996, p. 52), that will assist you (as the evaluator) in deciding how to respond to the potential ethical dilemma being posed in the case:
1 What are the consequences of the evaluator’s choice? What would happen, for example, if every evaluator made the same decision?
2 What duties and obligations do evaluators have to themselves, the funder, project stakeholders, and society at large?
3 What would be just or fair in this situation?
4 What would be the caring response or course of action? Is that the ethical response? Justify your position.
There is no perfect solution when faced with ethical dilemmas since these situations require the evaluator to make a decision that requires placing certain ethical values over others. In theory, acting in an ethical manner may seem quite simple—that is, just do the right thing! But, in practice, identifying an issue, making decisions, and acting in ethical ways is not so straightforward for evaluators. In the following activity, readers are provided an opportunity to identify potential ethical issues for an evaluator working in the field.
Reflect and Discuss: You Didn’t Hear It From Me!
Identify the potential ethical issues the evaluator faces in the activity that follows.
The Situations
During a confidential interview with a disgruntled (white) female staff member, an evaluator was told of an (alleged) incident of inappropriate sexual behavior by a program administrator (middle-aged white male) toward program clients (mostly poor women of color). The disgruntled staff member, while clearly wanting the conversation to remain confidential, stated to the evaluator, “I’m just saying; but you didn’t hear it from me.”
In another situation, during several confidential interviews, an evaluator learned that program administrators may have falsified the program’s accountability reports. However, no one who made these allegations wanted to go on record.
Questions for Discussion
Which potential ethical dilemmas exist for the evaluator in the two situations described?
Should the evaluator do anything? If so, what, and why?
Both of these scenarios require the evaluator to weigh the principles of the common good against promises of confidentiality made to the interviewees. Given the possible hidden agendas and complexities embedded in these cases, the evaluator should examine the situations from multiple perspectives, reflecting on whether the situations represent an ethical, legal, or professional problem or a combination of the three. Unless evaluators are forced to take an immediate course of action, they should pause to seek out different points of view and review and troubleshoot options with a more experienced, knowledgeable, and culturally competent colleague for this particular setting while remaining open-minded and reflective. Evaluators who are not culturally competent and who do not know and respect the unique cultural values operating in the evaluation context might inadvertently use culturally insensitive and incongruent methods that damage, instead of support, the community under study. This raises ethical issues related to the value of doing no harm.
Reviewing case studies, such as those found in Evaluation Ethics for Best Practice: Cases and Commentaries (Morris, 2008), is a useful way to help evaluators think about, analyze, and organize their thinking about real-life ethical dilemmas that they may face when conducting evaluations. Reflecting on evaluation cases, and discussing them with others, can better prepare evaluators for effective evaluation practice by developing the understanding, skills, and confidence necessary to confront ethical dilemmas in a thoughtful and coherent manner.
Ethics and Conflicts of Interest
A major concern that has serious ethical ramifications is conflict of interest. A conflict of interest refers to a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning the primary interest (i.e., the evaluation) might be influenced by a secondary competing