Evaluation theory is essential for the practice and profession of evaluation. It’s critical for providing a common language (e.g., formative vs. Summative evaluation), identifying important issues (e.g., evaluation use, nature of causation, equity), and establishing a unique knowledge base.

To provide an overview of the growing landscape of evaluation theory, evaluation scholars and practitioners have over the years developed different visualizations of evaluation theory, invoking imagery of trees, periodic tables, and metro maps. But these visualizations are diffuse, spread out in journals, books, blogs, and professional conferences. What researchers need is an accessible, comprehensive, and visual overview of the ever-growing range of evaluation theories, approaches, and methods. 

The different visualizations are important for several reasons. They are different ways of telling the story of evaluation. Each visual in its own way provides a narrative—a way of making sense—of day-to-day evaluation practices. The visuals also reflect the authors’ background, relationships, and experiences in evaluation. Beyond individual evaluators, the visuals hold potential implications for the evaluation profession as a whole. By mapping the evaluation landscape, the visuals signal what evaluation is and could be and establish boundaries between evaluation and other professions such as education and economics.

This special issue aims to remedy the dispersion of theories and their capture in visualizations by providing a common language to understand evaluation theories and presenting seven visual classification frameworks to promote learning, dialogue, and use. The issue describes various visualizations. Each visualization serves a unique purpose, and a key motivation for this special issue is that there is much to learn from reading about and looking at these visuals individually and collectively. In exploring the various visualizations, the authors discuss their benefits and their implications for the practice and profession of evaluation.

Abt Global Social Science Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Senior Associate Sebastian Lemire served as guest editor of the issue and was lead author of two articles: What Is This Thing Called Evaluation Theory?  and The Evaluation Metro Map.

Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation - Vol. 20 No. 48