What does It mean to be an evaluator? a mixed-methods exploration of American evaluators' professional identity.

Abstract

A clear sense of professional identity is critical for the development of evaluation as a profession, providing practitioners with a solid frame of reference upon which to base work decisions and improving society’s understanding of and trust in this field. This dissertation research draws from fields outside of evaluation to examine individual- and collective-level professional identity in order to inform the field’s discourse regarding what its practitioners believe it means to be an evaluator. The process of the study involved gathering data on evaluators’ sense of belonging, attachment, commitment, beliefs, and experiences with the evaluation profession, analyzing it qualitatively and quantitatively to develop a holistic understanding of evaluators’ professional identities. The results suggest that evaluators’ professional identities are grounded in affective and philosophical domains as demonstrated by the relationships between self-identification and commitment variables and by the implied and explicit feelings and values expressed throughout survey responses and interviews. The findings also demonstrate the unique nature of evaluation as a transdiscipline and question whether traditional professionalization paradigms are appropriate for its study and development.