This essay explores the implications of the zeitgeist that emerged in the United States during the 1960s for the conceptualization of ethical issues in evaluation and community psychology, and how perspectives from the latter field might enhance ethical practice in the former. Special attention is paid to articulations of social justice,…

Evaluators' experiences with being pressured by a key stakeholder to misrepresent findings were investigated in an anonymous survey of a random sample of over 2500 American Evaluation Association members; a response rate of 37% was obtained. Overall, 42% of the respondents had encountered misrepresentation pressure, with 70% of this subgroup…

This essay explores the contributions of "Evaluation Practice" and the "American Journal of Evaluation" to our understanding of evaluation ethics. The review is organized according to the five Guiding Principles for Evaluators (Systematic Inquiry, Competence, Integrity/Honesty, Respect for People, and Responsibilities for General and Public…

Successfully providing guidance to others is no easy task. Such is the challenge faced by committees charged with developing guidelines for ethical professional practice. The process of establishing and revising the Program Evaluation Standards (Joint Committee, 1994), for example, is a multiyear task that must seems endless to participants: a…

The Ethical Challenges scenario in the June 2004 issue of the American Journal of Evaluation focused on an evaluator-client disagreement concerning the wisdom of having consumer representation on a steering committee that would help plan and oversee an evaluation in an agency providing community-based residential services to the chronically…

All evaluators face the challenge of striving to adhere to the highest possible standards of ethical conduct. Translating the AEA's Guiding Principles and the Joint Committee's Program Evaluation Standards into everyday practice, however, can be a complex, uncertain, and frustrating endeavor. Moreover, acting in an ethical fashion can require…

All evaluators face the challenge of striving to adhere to the highest possible standards of ethical conduct. Translating the AEA's Guiding Principles and the Joint Committee's Program Evaluation Standards into everyday practice, however, can be a complex, uncertain, and frustrating endeavor. Moreover, acting in an ethical fashion can require…

Discusses ethical challenges faced by evaluators, especially those who have gotten into problems while conducting the evaluation. Introduces the other articles in this theme section. (SLD)

Outlines a scenario in which an evaluator wants to ask questions of teenagers that may pose ethical problems, or may be perceived as posing such problems. The hypothetical situation is the evaluation of a life skills program aimed at reducing the teen birth rate. (SLD)

Comments on two articles related to ethical challenges in evaluation and a series of articles on the subject published in the "American Journal of Evaluation" between 1998 and 2001. Considers the problems of ethical challenges in the context of principles and standards for evaluation developed by professional associations. (SLD)

The article and commentary in this special section consider the ethical implications of a remark by an employee in a business being evaluated that employees have been advised to make the program look good. Explores the implications for the evaluation and its usefulness. (SLD)

Poses the ethical challenges involved when an evaluation report is being misinterpreted to serve political ends through program cancellation and considers the internal evaluator's responsibility and effectiveness. Commentaries reflect on codes of behavior and the position of an evaluator with respect to program management. (SLD)

In the evaluation scenario presented, that of a mentoring program matching high school juniors and seventh graders, the external evaluator is asked for impact information before enough time has elapsed to provide really meaningful data. The commentators, T. A. Schwandt and D. G. Bonnet, take different approaches to what the evaluator should do.…