Emily Gates
Biographic Data
| ID | 4771027 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Emily Gates |
| GIVEN NAMES | Emily |
| FAMILY NAME | Gates |
| SIGNATURE | GATES E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Boston College |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2352-5064 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
An Oral History of Thomas A. Schwandt
Remembering Tom Schwandt
A critical, integrative review on evaluating systems change and transformation, Part One
Calls for evaluating systems change and transformation in multiple fields present an opportunity to explore cross-field patterns. This article reports on part one of a critical, integrative review of academic and gray literature published between 2011 and 2021 (n = 102) within five areas: evaluation, health, organizational change, sustainability, and philanthropy. Questions address key definitions, how a systemic approach differs from traditional…
Equity-Related Ethical Questions in Evaluation Practice
Amid calls for evaluations to advance equity, there are ongoing debates, varied guidance, and limited empirical research on how evaluators practically attend to equity in their work. This article identifies ethical questions—about the right thing to do when there are multiple options—that arise when evaluators attend to equity and factors that influence how evaluators interpret and address these questions. Our identification of questions and fact…
Equity-related ‘knots’ in theory of change development
Whose and what values? Advancing and illustrating explicit specification of evaluative criteria in education
Challenges and strategies for implementers and evaluators working in conflict settings
Practitioners implementing and evaluating humanitarian programs in conflict zones face unique challenges requiring context-sensitive guidance. Conflict zones—geographical areas with militarized and non-militarized violence, widespread political instability, and state-sanctioned intimidation and genocidal violence—are rife with logistical, methodological, and ethical challenges that impact implementation and evaluation. Although challenges have be…
Rich Pictures
Recognition of the complexity of the world raises questions about new theories, methods, and capabilities for evaluation practice. Approaches originating in the systems sciences show promise; however, many require specialized expertise and resources. This article explores rich pictures as an accessible, low-resource method for facilitating sensemaking amid complexity. The method involves the free-hand drawing of a situation to richly illustrate w…
It takes an ecosystem
Evaluation must transform to center equity. Yet, while recent scholarship critiques evaluation at the macro level for reproducing societal inequities and calls the profession and individual evaluators to change, this research overlooks evaluation ecosystems - though dynamic interactions among evaluation teams, workplaces, community stakeholders, funders, and informal professional networks form crucial connections between the macro and micro level…
Ethics of evaluation for socio-ecological transformation
Evaluation that supports social, ecological, and governance systems change and transformation raises ethical questions about what and whose worldviews do and should ground evaluative processes. This article illustrates one approach to ethical analysis within a case study of the first phase of an initiative to co-create a monitoring, evaluation, and learning system. The case drew on the principles of Blue Marble Evaluation in partnership with loca…
Exploring the Relevance of Complexity Theory for Mixed Methods Research
While the field of mixed methods has discussed complexity theory, more clarification regarding its conceptualization is needed. Accordingly, we first review how various fields have interpreted and applied the central ideas of complexity theory in the social sciences. We then analyze two empirical studies that used complexity theory and mixed methods. We highlight how both studies examined complex systems, used elements of complexity theory as the…
Learning from seasoned evaluators
In the last 20 years, approaches (i.e. concepts, theories, methods) from the systems fields have increased in popularity among evaluators and evaluation commissioners. Their popularity stems in part from a widespread view that systems approaches transform evaluation practice, despite a lack of evidence. There have been few empirical examinations of the implications of these approaches for evaluation practice. This study analyzed eight cases of se…
Toward Valuing With Critical Systems Heuristics
Evaluation is defined by its central task of valuing—the process and product of judging the merit, worth, or significance of a policy or program. However, there are no clear-cut ways to consider values and render value judgments in evaluation practice. There remains contention in the evaluation field about whether and how to make value judgments. No approach to valuing eliminates the uncertainty, plurality, and potential for conflict that comes w…
Implications of the Changing Conversation About Causality for Evaluators
Making causal claims is central to evaluation practice because we want to know the effects of a program, project, or policy. In the past decade, the conversation about establishing causal claims has become prominent (and problematic). In response to this changing conversation about causality, we argue that evaluators need to take up some new ways of thinking about and examining causal claims in their practices, including (1) being responsive to t…
Toward Valuing With Critical Systems Heuristics
Evaluation is defined by its central task of valuing—the process and product of judging the merit, worth, or significance of a policy or program. However, there are no clear-cut ways to consider values and render value judgments in evaluation practice. There remains contention in the evaluation field about whether and how to make value judgments. No approach to valuing eliminates the uncertainty, plurality, and potential for conflict that comes w…
Implications of the Changing Conversation About Causality for Evaluators
Making causal claims is central to evaluation practice because we want to know the effects of a program, project, or policy. In the past decade, the conversation about establishing causal claims has become prominent (and problematic). In response to this changing conversation about causality, we argue that evaluators need to take up some new ways of thinking about and examining causal claims in their practices, including (1) being responsive to t…
Learning from seasoned evaluators
In the last 20 years, approaches (i.e. concepts, theories, methods) from the systems fields have increased in popularity among evaluators and evaluation commissioners. Their popularity stems in part from a widespread view that systems approaches transform evaluation practice, despite a lack of evidence. There have been few empirical examinations of the implications of these approaches for evaluation practice. This study analyzed eight cases of se…
Exploring the Relevance of Complexity Theory for Mixed Methods Research
While the field of mixed methods has discussed complexity theory, more clarification regarding its conceptualization is needed. Accordingly, we first review how various fields have interpreted and applied the central ideas of complexity theory in the social sciences. We then analyze two empirical studies that used complexity theory and mixed methods. We highlight how both studies examined complex systems, used elements of complexity theory as the…
Rich Pictures
Recognition of the complexity of the world raises questions about new theories, methods, and capabilities for evaluation practice. Approaches originating in the systems sciences show promise; however, many require specialized expertise and resources. This article explores rich pictures as an accessible, low-resource method for facilitating sensemaking amid complexity. The method involves the free-hand drawing of a situation to richly illustrate w…
Implications of the Changing Conversation About Causality for Evaluators
Making causal claims is central to evaluation practice because we want to know the effects of a program, project, or policy. In the past decade, the conversation about establishing causal claims has become prominent (and problematic). In response to this changing conversation about causality, we argue that evaluators need to take up some new ways of thinking about and examining causal claims in their practices, including (1) being responsive to t…
Learning from seasoned evaluators
In the last 20 years, approaches (i.e. concepts, theories, methods) from the systems fields have increased in popularity among evaluators and evaluation commissioners. Their popularity stems in part from a widespread view that systems approaches transform evaluation practice, despite a lack of evidence. There have been few empirical examinations of the implications of these approaches for evaluation practice. This study analyzed eight cases of se…
Toward Valuing With Critical Systems Heuristics
Evaluation is defined by its central task of valuing—the process and product of judging the merit, worth, or significance of a policy or program. However, there are no clear-cut ways to consider values and render value judgments in evaluation practice. There remains contention in the evaluation field about whether and how to make value judgments. No approach to valuing eliminates the uncertainty, plurality, and potential for conflict that comes w…
Exploring the Relevance of Complexity Theory for Mixed Methods Research
While the field of mixed methods has discussed complexity theory, more clarification regarding its conceptualization is needed. Accordingly, we first review how various fields have interpreted and applied the central ideas of complexity theory in the social sciences. We then analyze two empirical studies that used complexity theory and mixed methods. We highlight how both studies examined complex systems, used elements of complexity theory as the…
It takes an ecosystem
Evaluation must transform to center equity. Yet, while recent scholarship critiques evaluation at the macro level for reproducing societal inequities and calls the profession and individual evaluators to change, this research overlooks evaluation ecosystems - though dynamic interactions among evaluation teams, workplaces, community stakeholders, funders, and informal professional networks form crucial connections between the macro and micro level…
Ethics of evaluation for socio-ecological transformation
Evaluation that supports social, ecological, and governance systems change and transformation raises ethical questions about what and whose worldviews do and should ground evaluative processes. This article illustrates one approach to ethical analysis within a case study of the first phase of an initiative to co-create a monitoring, evaluation, and learning system. The case drew on the principles of Blue Marble Evaluation in partnership with loca…
Challenges and strategies for implementers and evaluators working in conflict settings
Practitioners implementing and evaluating humanitarian programs in conflict zones face unique challenges requiring context-sensitive guidance. Conflict zones—geographical areas with militarized and non-militarized violence, widespread political instability, and state-sanctioned intimidation and genocidal violence—are rife with logistical, methodological, and ethical challenges that impact implementation and evaluation. Although challenges have be…
Rich Pictures
Recognition of the complexity of the world raises questions about new theories, methods, and capabilities for evaluation practice. Approaches originating in the systems sciences show promise; however, many require specialized expertise and resources. This article explores rich pictures as an accessible, low-resource method for facilitating sensemaking amid complexity. The method involves the free-hand drawing of a situation to richly illustrate w…
Equity-related ‘knots’ in theory of change development
Whose and what values? Advancing and illustrating explicit specification of evaluative criteria in education
A critical, integrative review on evaluating systems change and transformation, Part One
Calls for evaluating systems change and transformation in multiple fields present an opportunity to explore cross-field patterns. This article reports on part one of a critical, integrative review of academic and gray literature published between 2011 and 2021 (n = 102) within five areas: evaluation, health, organizational change, sustainability, and philanthropy. Questions address key definitions, how a systemic approach differs from traditional…
Equity-Related Ethical Questions in Evaluation Practice
Amid calls for evaluations to advance equity, there are ongoing debates, varied guidance, and limited empirical research on how evaluators practically attend to equity in their work. This article identifies ethical questions—about the right thing to do when there are multiple options—that arise when evaluators attend to equity and factors that influence how evaluators interpret and address these questions. Our identification of questions and fact…
An Oral History of Thomas A. Schwandt
Remembering Tom Schwandt
Evaluation and Performance Assessment (13 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Political science (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Engineering (5 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · Community Health and Development (4 works) · Engineering ethics (4 works) · Health Policy Implementation Science (4 works)