What’s the Problem Represented to Be? Problem Definition Critique as a Tool for Evaluative Thinking

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Archibald
Keyword(s):  
Program Planning ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Problem Representation ◽  
Program Planning And Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Evaluative Thinking

Problem definition in program planning and evaluation is rarely problematized. In this article, I discuss why the lack of problem problematization is itself problematic—in other words, why treating problems as self-evident can pose a risk for evaluation practice. Then, to help avoid such risks, I suggest Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” approach as a useful tool to focus evaluative thinking on the frequently tacit step of problem definition. Bacchi’s approach, informed by feminist and poststructuralist epistemologies, is designed to facilitate critical interrogation of policies and programs, focusing on the social and value-laden ways in which problems are initially defined. I propose that evaluators can fruitfully use Bacchi’s tool to promote evaluative thinking about the assumptions that inhere problem representation and thus can help promote better evaluation.

What's the problem with disaster? Anthropology, social work, and the qualitative slot

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1496-1516
Author(s):  
Tisha Joseph Holmes ◽  
John Mathias ◽  
Tyler McCreary ◽  
James Brian Elsner
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
The Social ◽  
Disaster Anthropology ◽  
Political Economic

On March 3, 2019, an EF4 tornado devastated the rural Alabama communities of Beauregard and Smith Station, killing 23 people and causing direct injuries to another 97. This storm was unusually devastating, with twice the predicted casualty rate based on the tornado’s power, the impacted population, and impacted housing stock. In this paper, we apply qualitative methods from anthropology, geography, and planning to better understand the social context of this unusually devastating tornado. Recognizing that there are multiple formulations of the problem of disasters, we aim to highlight how interdisciplinary qualitative research can deepen our understanding of tornado disasters. Combining policy analysis, political economic critique, and ethnographic description, we seek to showcase how qualitative research enables us to interrogate and reimagine the problem of disasters. Rather than simply juxtaposing qualitative and quantitative methods, we emphasize how the heterogeneity of qualitative research methods can strengthen interdisciplinary research projects by generating dialogue about the multiple contexts relevant to understanding a social problem. While problem definition remains a central challenge to establishing a dialogue between anthropology and social work, here, we intend to extend this discussion to larger interdisciplinary collaborations. Situating the issue of problem formation within a broader ecology of qualitative inquiry, we highlight how dialogue about problem definition can, itself, produce meaningful insights into how we understand disasters.

Navigating Theory and Practice Through Evaluation Fieldwork

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Anne Chouinard ◽  
Ayesha S. Boyce ◽  
Juanita Hicks ◽  
Jennie Jones ◽  
Justin Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Evaluation Theory ◽  
Evaluation Practice ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship

To explore the relationship between theory and practice in evaluation, we focus on the perspectives and experiences of student evaluators, as they move from the classroom to an engagement with the social, political, and cultural dynamics of evaluation in the field. Through reflective journals, postcourse interviews, and facilitated group discussions, we involve students in critical thinking around the relationship between evaluation theory and practice, which for many was unexpectedly tumultuous and contextually dynamic and complex. In our exploration, we are guided by the following questions: How do novice practitioners navigate between the world of the classroom and the world of practice? What informs their evaluation practice? More specifically, how can we understand the relationship between theory and practice in evaluation? A thematic analysis leads to three interconnected themes. We conclude with implications for thinking about the relationship between theory and practice in evaluation.

Case Study Research Using Senior Design Projects: An Example Application

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan R. A. Maier ◽  
Timothy Troy ◽  
P. Jud Johnston ◽  
Vedik Bobba ◽  
Joshua D. Summers
Keyword(s):  
Complex Adaptive System ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
The Social ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Practical Conclusion

Case study research in engineering design, while not as formalized and accepted as in the social sciences, is growing in popularity because of its ability to yield significant insights into how designers interact with design problems, processes, artifacts, and each other. A wealth of evidence for use in case studies exists in the form of undergraduate senior design courses, which produce documentation related to the design of new artifacts every academic semester. The resulting documentation can be effectively mined to test hypotheses about design processes and designer behaviors. In this paper, we offer an example application of how to apply case study research to a completed senior design project in order to test a theory for how designers, users, and artifacts behave as a complex adaptive system. The evidence from the case study supports the descriptive power of the theoretical framework and supports the practical conclusion that effective communication between designers and users is particularly important and should be strengthened to foster overall project success, especially during the problem definition stage of design.

The Effect of Parental Demographics on Parental Assessment of Adolescent Internet Addiction

2019 ◽  
pp. 183-195
Author(s):  
Chiho Ok ◽  
Jisun Lim
Keyword(s):  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Parental Assessment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Parental Evaluation ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Policies And Programs

This article investigates how adolescent Internet addiction is assessed by parents based on children's Internet use time and parental demographic characteristics. The authors measured children's level of Internet addiction based on Young's scale evaluated by their parents to mitigate the social desirability bias in self-reported surveys when children evaluate themselves. Based on Korean General Social Survey data, which is nationally representative in South Korea, they analyzed 219 individuals and found that as the time of Internet use of children increased, the level of Internet addiction evaluated by parents increased. In addition, this relationship was moderated by parental demographic characteristics such that higher age, lower educational attainment, and higher Internet use time tend to decrease the parental evaluation of their children's Internet addiction. Results suggest that policies and programs related to children's Internet addiction should be focused more on parents from specific demographic groups.

Reducing Carbon-Based Energy Consumption through Changes in Household Behavior

Daedalus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Dietz ◽  
Paul C. Stern ◽  
Elke U. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Household Behavior ◽  
The Social ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Carbon Based

Actions by individuals and households to reduce carbon-based energy consumption have the potential to change the picture of U.S. energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in the near term. To tap this potential, however, energy policies and programs need to replace outmoded assumptions about what drives human behavior; they must integrate insights from the behavioral and social sciences with those from engineering and economics. This integrated approach has thus far only occasionally been implemented. This essay summarizes knowledge from the social sciences and from highly successful energy programs to show what the potential is and how it can be achieved.

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