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Imagine that you are the evaluator referred to in this case. First, identify why this situation poses an ethical dilemma for the evaluator.

Answer the following questions, adapted from Newman and Brown (1996, p. 52), that will assist you (as the evaluator) in deciding how to respond to the potential ethical dilemma being posed in the case:

1 What are the consequences of the evaluator’s choice? What would happen, for example, if every evaluator made the same decision?

2 What duties and obligations do evaluators have to themselves, the funder, project stakeholders, and society at large?

3 What would be just or fair in this situation?

4 What would be the caring response or course of action? Is that the ethical response? Justify your position.

There is no perfect solution when faced with ethical dilemmas since these situations require the evaluator to make a decision that requires placing certain ethical values over others. In theory, acting in an ethical manner may seem quite simple—that is, just do the right thing! But, in practice, identifying an issue, making decisions, and acting in ethical ways is not so straightforward for evaluators. In the following activity, readers are provided an opportunity to identify potential ethical issues for an evaluator working in the field.