Selecting the right methods and processes for an evaluation begins with asking: What is the purpose of evaluation? Clarifying Key Evaluation Questions (KEQs), like What happened? Why did it happen? Was it effective?, guides the entire process.
Key Steps to Guide Your Choices #
- Cover all evaluation tasks – Don’t just focus on design. Think about how you’ll manage, frame, describe, understand causes of outcomes, synthesize findings, and report to users.
- Align methods to KEQs
- Use descriptive methods for factual questions: what occurred?
- Apply causal approaches for cause-effect inquiries.
- Draw on synthesis tools for evaluative assessments.
- Use action-oriented methods to determine what should be done next.
- Stay grounded in context- Tailor your evaluation according to what’s being evaluated, available resources, timing, users’ needs, evidence availability, and practical constraints.
- Mix methods thoughtfully – A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods helps offset biases and gives a fuller picture.
- Build an evaluation matrix – Mapping KEQs against data sources (like interviews, surveys, documents) ensures comprehensive coverage and triangulation.
- Check feasibility – Verify if your chosen methods fit within budget, timeline, and available skills or tools. Adjust if needed.
- Seek review and adapt – Share your plan with peers or experts. Revisit and adjust your methods as circumstances change, and document why you made changes.
This process ensures evaluations are fit-for-purpose, credible, and useful—balancing ambition with what’s feasible and meaningful to those who’ll use the insights.
List of recommended resources #
For a broad overview #
Framework Tool for Choosing Methods
This article by the Independent Evaluation Office of UNDP gives a brief on choosing appropriate evaluation designs, techniques, methods, and approaches. The post discusses the effectiveness/impact of methods, relevance, sustainability, and efficiency, as well as selection of frameworks for choosing methods.
This article by Funding for Good gives an overview of evaluations, its different methods, and how to choose between different types of evaluation methods. The article then elaborates on the common types of evaluation methods and how to design effective programs and program evaluations.
For in-depth understanding #
Choosing Appropriate Evaluation Methods
This guide by Barbara Befani begins an introduction to the appropriateness of evaluation methods. Befani, then, gives a detailed understanding of choice and design triangles, dimension of appropriateness, along with the use and limitations of evaluation tools.
Selecting an Appropriate Design for the Evaluation
This chapter from Evaluation Community Programs and Initiatives gives an in-depth understanding of evaluation designs, why one should choose a design for evaluation, along with the parameters to consider while choosing an evaluation design.
Case study #
Poverty Mapping in the Age of Machine Learning
This paper by Paul Corral and Sandra Segovia investigates the reliability of current model validation techniques by creating a pseudo-census from Mexico’s 2015 Intercensal Survey. This dataset is then used to run a series of design-based simulation experiments. Through the application of different validation methods, the study demonstrates that machine learning–based estimates can perform on par with, and sometimes as effectively as, traditional poverty mapping methods that typically require more extensive data.
Tools for Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Green Growth : The U.S. and Mexico
This paper, Winston Harrington, Richard Morgenstern, and Daniel Velez-Lopez analyzes how the United States and Mexico evaluate the economic costs and benefits of environmental improvements. The study looks at the methods and processes currently employed, the type of information these approaches generate, and the gaps that remain in both cost and benefit assessments. By highlighting the importance of carefully choosing methods and processes for evaluation, the authors point to the need for more robust evidence to better understand the challenges and opportunities involved in advancing a green growth agenda.
