1012 - Qualitative Inquiry in Evaluation: An Introduction to Core Concepts and Data Collection Methods

Abstract Information: This workshop introduces core concepts that provide an important foundation for the use of qualitative methods in evaluation. Three primary data collection methods are featured: individual interviewing, participant observation, and document review. Partner and small group activities are woven throughout the session to develop participants’ knowledge and skills in gathering data via these methods. Group discussions explore essential ethical and methodological considerations, including the practice of reflexivity to examine one’s positionality and subjectivity and to foster cultural humility and inclusivity. In addition, the workshop presents a practitioner-friendly conceptual model that illuminates five processes for enhancing the quality of qualitative evaluations and can serve as a valuable touchstone for future evaluation efforts. (Please note that due to the inherent constraints of a six-hour introductory workshop and the scope of the featured topics, data analysis is not covered in this session.)

Relevance Statement: Qualitative inquiry is now central to evaluation practice. Some evaluation projects use qualitative methods exclusively, and countless evaluation efforts combine qualitative and quantitative methods (Goodyear, Jewiss, Usinger, & Barela, 2014; Patton, 2014). However, many students of evaluation and practicing evaluators find that their academic coursework and previous professional development opportunities have not provided an adequate foundation for the appropriate use of qualitative inquiry in evaluation. This workshop is designed to help fill that gap by introducing core concepts and three prominent qualitative data collection methods. Core concepts featured in this workshop address essential epistemological underpinnings of qualitative inquiry. The use of qualitative methods without this foundational understanding is limited at best and potentially problematic. Even those of us who were fortunate to learn from and work alongside leading qualitative scholars and practitioners stand to benefit from revisiting these epistemological underpinnings and considering implications for our current practice. The three featured data collection methods are individual interviewing, participant observation, and document review. These three methods were selected due to their frequent use, practical utility, varied procedures, and appropriateness for an introductory workshop. I draw from the vast methodological literature to share insights that have meaningfully informed my own evaluation practice and that of students and colleagues I have advised. Throughout the day, group discussions and activities enable workshop participants to deepen their learning and build their skills. In addition, a carefully curated list of resources is provided to participants to support continued learning following the six-hour workshop. The practice of reflexivity is introduced as a critical means of examining one’s positionality and subjectivity and thereby fostering cultural humility and inclusivity. The workshop also presents a conceptual model, which was developed by a team of highly experienced qualitative evaluators and informed by case examples and words of wisdom shared by prominent evaluation colleagues (Goodyear, Jewiss, Usinger, & Barela, 2014, p. 254). The model illuminates five processes for enhancing the quality of qualitative evaluations: a) Acknowledging who you are and what you bring to the work, b) Building trusting relationships, c) Employing sound and explicit methodology, d) Staying true to the data, and e) Fostering learning. The Evaluation 2024 Conference theme, Amplifying and Empowering Voices in Evaluation, asks presenters to consider questions such as: “How do you involve different perspectives in your work? Are you uplifting the voices of today’s youth, the historically underrepresented, the typically unheard?” (AEA website). Qualitative inquiry is uniquely positioned to amplify the voices of “the historically underrepresented” and “the typically unheard.” This professional development workshop features examples of qualitative evaluations that gathered the perspectives of youth from families with low socioeconomic status and young adults from underrepresented racial/ethnic communities. In addition, the carefully curated list of methodological resources highlights the work of leading BIPOC scholars.
Goodyear, L., Jewiss, J., Usinger, J. & Barela, E. (2014). Qualitative inquiry in evaluation: From theory to practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Patton M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.