The ethical tipping points of evaluators in conflict zones

Colleen  Duggan; Kenneth David Bush

doi:10.1177/1098214014535658

The ethical tipping points of evaluators in conflict zones

Colleen Duggan, Kenneth David Bush

Post-war Reconstruction and Development

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

What is different about the conduct of evaluations in conflict zones compared to non-conflict zones – and how do these differences affect (if at all) the ethical calculations and behavior of evaluators? When are ethical issues too risky, or too uncertain, for evaluators to accept – or to continue -- an evaluation? These are the core questions guiding this article. Part I considers how the particularities of conflict zones affect our ability to conduct evaluations. Part II undertakes a selective review of the literature to better understand how ethical issues have been addressed both in evaluation research and evaluation manuals. Part III draws on a series of structured conversations with evaluators to probe more deeply into the ethical challenges they face in conflict zones -- with a particular interest in the ‘ethical tipping points’ of evaluators. Part IV considers ways evaluation actors can manage ethical challenges in conflict zones, concluding with a brief discussion of how these issues might be located more centrally in evaluation research and practice.

Original language	English
Article number	1098214014535658
Number of pages	22
Journal	American Journal of Evaluation
Volume	35
Issue number	3
Early online date	4 Jun 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214014535658
Publication status	Published - 2014

Keywords

Conflict Zones
Ethics
Evaluation
Methodology

Access to Document

10.1177/1098214014535658

Cite this

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title = "The ethical tipping points of evaluators in conflict zones",

abstract = "What is different about the conduct of evaluations in conflict zones compared to non-conflict zones – and how do these differences affect (if at all) the ethical calculations and behavior of evaluators? When are ethical issues too risky, or too uncertain, for evaluators to accept – or to continue -- an evaluation? These are the core questions guiding this article. Part I considers how the particularities of conflict zones affect our ability to conduct evaluations. Part II undertakes a selective review of the literature to better understand how ethical issues have been addressed both in evaluation research and evaluation manuals. Part III draws on a series of structured conversations with evaluators to probe more deeply into the ethical challenges they face in conflict zones -- with a particular interest in the {\textquoteleft}ethical tipping points{\textquoteright} of evaluators. Part IV considers ways evaluation actors can manage ethical challenges in conflict zones, concluding with a brief discussion of how these issues might be located more centrally in evaluation research and practice. ",

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