Research and evaluation: an overview

Three characteristics may be considered to distinguish research from evaluation. The focus of inquiry in evaluation tends to be on decisions; whereas in research, the focus of inquiry is on conclusions. Research tends to produce generalizable results more often than does evaluation. Finally, the focus of judgment in evaluation is on worth, whereas in research the focus is on truth. (See Table 1, page 34, for a summary list of characteristics and their place in both research and evaluation.) Evaluators thus tend to focus on setting, politics, audience, and the decision-making process. Researchers, on the other hand, focus more on methodological rigor, replication, and theory-building. As an evaluation activity tends to adopt research characteristics, such as the scientific method of random selection of subjects, the nature of this activity may be more appropriately labeled evaluative research.