A Conceptual Framework for How Evaluators Make Everyday Practice Decisions

How do evaluators make decisions about how to approach an evaluation in their everyday practice? What are the bases for evaluators’ approach choices? In what ways do evaluators think about evaluation models? The evaluation literature remains unclear about what specific information evaluators consider when making decisions in response to everyday situations. This article introduces a conceptual framework for studying evaluators’ practice decisions that focuses on situation awareness in response to an evaluation context, practical reasoning as the bases for decision making, and reflection in action in response to changing environments. A study of how evaluators think through their work and make decisions about when, where, and why some strategies are used and others are not, may help to inform the field about everyday decision practices.