Full Description
Realist Evaluation: Principles and Practice offers a comprehensive exploration of contemporary realist evaluation, showcasing how skilled practitioners navigate diverse fieldwork contexts.
Authored by experts spanning academia and evaluation backgrounds across five continents in fields including climate change, criminology, health, and international development, the book provides a rich tapestry of perspectives. Covering participatory approaches, digital and visual data collection, interpreter-mediated interviews, and innovative methods like refuse data analysis, the authors delve into contemporary social research methodologies while addressing issues such as power, insider/outsider research, the nature of evidence, critical and scientific realism philosophies of science, and confirmation bias in qualitative research. Practical advice is provided in areas such as developing a topic guide, combining a realist review with an evaluation, and managing large, multi-site cross-national projects. This collection underscores the creative nature of the realist imagination, highlighting ongoing innovations by scholars and evaluators.
With contributions from an outstanding group of internationally renowned experts in realist evaluation including Nick Tilley, a key figure in the development of realist evaluation alongside Ray Pawson, this is the ideal text for students, researchers and professionals including policy makers, professional evaluators, and those at organisations such as thinktanks and NGOs, who require an accessible guide on how to use realist evaluation methods.
Chapters: Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license
Contents
Introduction: The Context of Realist Data Collection 1. Testing realist hypotheses: The Value of Diverse Evidence, including Unobtrusive Measures 2. A Realist Understanding of Bias in Qualitative Data Collection 3. Nothing as Practical as an Analytical Strategy in Realist Evaluation: Findings and Recommendations from a Comprehensive Review 4. Combining Realist Reviews with Realist Evaluations 5. Managing Abundance Rigorously: Quality in Realist Evaluation with Extensive Qualitative Data 6. Realist Interviewing for Novice Realist Evaluators 7. Realist Interviews in Global Health Research: Case Studies and Comparative Analysis with Similar Interview Approaches 8. Realist Data Collection in Less Familiar Settings: Exploring Challenges and Strategies 9. Qualitative Realist Interviews using Online Video Technology: Challenges and Opportunities 10. Lessons from Realist Evaluations in Canada: Advancing Programme Theory through Patient-Oriented Research Approaches 11. The Realist Topic Guide 12. Developing a Recipe for Realist Interviewing using Critical Realist Ingredients 13. Theorising through the Lens: Introducing a Realist Photovoice Technique
