Evaluation Ethics for Best Practice: Cases and Commentaries

Michael A. Morris

Sep 2007 · Guilford Press

About this ebook

Focusing on ethical challenges in program evaluation, this innovative book features six case-study scenarios that end at a point where the evaluator faces a significant decision about how to proceed. For each case, two distinguished evaluators offer insights on the best course of action to choose, and why. "What If?" boxes modify the details of the scenarios, inviting readers to reflect on whether these changes alter the ethical implications of the case. Six additional cases are presented with questions that guide readers to develop their own ethical analyses. The book is organized to follow the progress of an evaluation, from the entry/contracting phase through the utilization of results.

About the author

Michael Morris is Professor of Psychology at the University of New Haven, where he directs the Master's Program in Community Psychology. He served as the first editor of the Ethical Challenges section of the American Journal of Evaluation from 1998 to 2004. His publications have appeared in Evaluation Review, Evaluation and Program Planning, the American Journal of Community Psychology, and the Journal of Community of Psychology, among others. He coedited, with Jody Fitzpatrick, the New Directions for Evaluation volume devoted to "Current and Emerging Ethical Challenges in Evaluation" (1999). Dr. Morris is a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of New Directions for Evaluation and the American Journal of Evaluation and has served as Chair of the Ethics Committee and the Public Affairs Committee of the American Evaluation Association. His other books include Poverty and Public Policy (with John Williamson) and Myths about the Powerless (with M. Brinton Lykes, Ramsay Liem, and Ali Banuazizi). A trainer in evaluation ethics throughout the United States and abroad, he received his PhD in community-social psychology from Boston College.