Ethical decision-making in evaluation

Abstract

While ethical concerns are a central issue in evaluation, few evaluators have formal training in this area and consensus has not been reached about what evaluators seek in regard to ethics. In this article, different approaches to ethical review are described, drawing from: existing research on how evaluators currently deal with these concerns; the formal process put forward by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, and theoretical models of decision-making. Findings from a regional forum on ethics and evaluation, which was held in Melbourne in 2006, are also reported. The Australasian Evaluation Society should continue to promote discussion on ethics to further the knowledge and skills of evaluators and the AES may also have a role in educating human research ethics committees, to increase their capacity to respond appropriately to evaluation proposals.