Evaluation Methods

Word clouds or tag clouds are graphical representations of word frequency that give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in a source text.

Cartoon images can be used by evaluators to an understanding of program impact, scenes of program implementation, main findings or issues.

The Five Whys is an easy question asking option that examines the cause-and-effect relationships that underly problems.

RAPID outcome assessment (ROA) is a method to assess and map the contribution of a project’s actions on a particular change in policy or the policy environment.

Correlation is ​a statistical measure ranging from +1.0 to -1.0, represented by 'r', that indicates how strongly two or more variables are related and whether that relationship is posi

People who are affected by colour blindness are unable to distinguish between different hues of certain colours.

Data backup refers to onsite and offsite, automatic and manual processes to guard against the risk of data being lost or corrupted. 

An aide-memoire generally refers to a document that is produced to summarise key findings and important recommendations of an evaluation.

Expert advice provides advice in response to specific queries.

It might include a process to clarify and reframe the question that is being asked.

Line ministries and departments are specific governmental departments or ministries that focus on particular sectors or areas, such as health, educa

Organisational capacity strengthening plans are designed to enhance the capabilities of institutions responsible for M&E functions.

A concept map shows how different ideas relate to each other - sometimes this is called a mind map or a cluster map.

A histogram is a graphical way of presenting a frequency distribution of quantitative data organised into a number equally spaced intervals or bins (e.g. 1-10, 11-20…).

Evaluation management often involves a steering group, which makes the decisions about the evaluation.

Teleconferences can be used to facilitate the discussion of evaluation findings via telephone.

The program theory may predict the timing of outcomes for the evaluator to check against these dates with the dates of actual changes and outcomes.

Consensus decision is a decision-making method that involves reaching agreement between all members of a group with regards to a certain issue.  

Through the use of pictures, video or audio representations, maps or models, displays and exhibits can be used to draw attention to certain issues and assist in community engagement. 

Group model building involves building a logic model in a group, often using sticky notes.

The reporting of unusual events or incidents is important both for the sake of transparency and to improve policies and procedures.