Evaluator Characteristics and Methodological Choice

This study addresses the central question “How do evaluators' background characteristics relate to their evaluation design choices?” Evaluators were provided with a fictitious description of a school-based program and asked to design an evaluation of that program. Relevant background characteristics such as level of experience, methodological preferences, evaluation utilization preferences, and level of education were collected from each respondent. Major findings indicate that evaluators' methodological and use preferences were significantly related to specific design choices for the fictitious evaluation.