Читать книгу An Introduction to Evaluation - Chris Fox - Страница 47

Participants must willingly participate in the evaluations, namely in the workshops, interviews, focus groups, and all the other situations by which data and information are to be collected. The option not to participate should be made clear and available to them as an equally valid and respected option.

Although in theory all of this seems very straightforward, i.e. that any conscious and well-informed individual is able to opt in or out of actively participating in the evaluations, in practice challenges to the concept of voluntary participation may arise.

Evaluations pose issues of power relations that are of a different nature from those in social research, and more specifically programme evaluations. It is not simply about the power relations between the evaluator and participants but the complex power relations between participants and those who have commissioned the evaluations.

In some circumstances, individuals may find it difficult to opt out when they are being told by their managers that they have to participate. Evaluators are unable to control this and are largely unable to influence the interactional dynamics underlining organisational hierarchies and complexity. They must however be highly aware of it and ensure that they ask participants directly whether they want to participant or not as opposed to asking those who manage them.

Indeed, in the overwhelming majority of cases, evaluators do need to invest more effort in ensuring that participants: (a) are fully aware of and understand the main purpose, objectives, and other relevant details concerning the evaluations; (b) understand what are the advantages and disadvantages associated with their decision to participate or opt out; (c) are given the opportunity to negotiate their participation; and (d) are able to opt out at a later point if they change their mind.

A particular challenge is posed by the use of incentives or payments. Sometimes a payment or similar incentive (for example a voucher) is deemed necessary or appropriate to compensate participants for giving up their time or to demonstrate appreciation of the participants’ input. Careful consideration must be given to the influence of the incentive on response rates and responses, with the level of incentive set so as to minimise the risk of introducing a bias to the research.