The Mixed Methods Approach to Evaluation

Michael Bamberger, Social Impact Concept Note Series No.1, June 2013

Available as pdf

Executive summary
“Over the past decade there has been an increased demand for mixed-methods evaluations to better understand the complexity of international development interventions and in recognition of the fact that no single evaluation methodology can fully capture and measure the multiple processes and outcomes that every development program involves. At the same time, no consensus has been reached by policy makers and evaluation practitioners as to what exactly constitutes a mixed-methods approach.
This SI Concept Note aims at helping that discussion by defining mixed-methods as evaluation approaches that systematically integrate quantitative and qualitative research methodologies at all stages of an evaluation. The paper further discusses the most important strengths and weaknesses of mixed-methods approaches compared to quantitative and qualitative only evaluations and lists a number  of implementation challenges and ways to address them that may be useful to both producers and consumers of performance and impact evaluations.”

 

One thought on “The Mixed Methods Approach to Evaluation”

  1. I think this situation appears because of the lack of perform evaluators! because everyone can be an avaluator but what kind of evaluator?
    this situation has its conséquences in M&E by creating facilities .
    despite of this wa can efectivily use mixed method to solve an evaluation situation like in french we use:triangulation ase a kind of methodology adding more than two technics in any scintific approach.to end my reflexion let me tell that the goal free evaluation can stop such a situation

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