Exploring the Missing Links between Cause and Effect
A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Micro–Macro Conversions in Programme Evaluation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12567358 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Petri Virtanen (0000-0002-8403-937X, Net Effect Ltd, Finland, corresponding author), Petri Uusikylä (0000-0002-6120-7553, Net Effect Ltd, Finland) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 77-91 |
| Publication date | 2004-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Evaluation (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1356-3890 • E-ISSN: 1461-7153 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1356389004043136 |
| OpenAlex | W2168997787 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 4 |
Programme evaluation has become a widely applied mode of systematic inquiry for making judgements about public policies. Although evaluation, as a form of systematic inquiry, has provided feedback information for policy makers, it still too often produces banal answers to complex and multi-dimensional societal problems. In this article, we take a close look at the ontological premises, conceptions of causality, and relationships to rational theories of action of different programme evaluation paradigms. There is a paradigm crisis in evaluation resulting from differences over assumptions about causality. Evaluation paradigms clearly provide research strategies, but more particularly they map causal links in contrasting ways. Traditional cause-and-effect logic disregards the fact that programme effects are always brought about by real actors rather than constructed ideal actors. A new interpretation of causes and effects is needed, which would strengthen the core ideas that lie behind the now widely applied and consolidated realistic evaluation tradition
Action (physics · Causality (physics · Core (optical fiber · Economics · Epistemology · Ideal (ethics · Interpretation (philosophy · Management science · Political science · Positive economics · Sociology · Computer Science · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Public Policy and Administration Research
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| Citations per year | 0.53 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2009 - 2021 (13) |
| Highly cited | No |