Category Archives: Causal inference

Commissioning XGEMs – the sequel

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Jane Davidson

In Monday’s post, Extreme Genuine Evaluation Makeovers (XGEMs) for Commissioning, I discussed a way of kicking off the process of selecting an evaluator for a project by suggesting that well-designed EOIs would often be more informative, less onerous (on both … Continue reading →

Posted in Causal inference, Commissioning evaluation, Evaluative questions & answers, Learning from failure, The client's role, Values-based | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Where and Why Western lenses miss the mark in Africa: The case of HIV/AIDS prevention evaluations

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Tererai Trent

“Given the norms that govern most patriarchal societies in Africa, should the Western epistemology, ethics and concepts be the main default lens for evaluation” “Despite their blindness to social cultural context, are these evaluations valid even though they are said … Continue reading →

Posted in Appropriate inference, Causal inference, Cultural context, Development, Health, Meta-evaluation, Values-based | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Finding “the best” way

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Patricia Rogers

Yet another study announced which aims to find “the” best way – this time the best way to treat anorexia nervosa.  As reported in The Age: Australian researchers will conduct a world-first study to find the optimal treatment for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Appropriate inference, Appropriate reporting, Causal inference, Meta-evaluation, Synthesis of findings | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Friday Funny: New Poll Shows Correlation is Causation

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Patricia Rogers & Jane Davidson

There have been quite a few posts on Genuine Evaluation on the topic of causation. We got a kick out of this satirical newspaper report of a polling showing that correlation is, in fact, causality. What a relief! A few … Continue reading →

Posted in Causal inference, Friday Funnies | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How much evidence is needed for policy?

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Patricia Rogers

In the last few days before the Australian federal election, a curious $5million advertising campaign has been launched which claims to be advocating evidence-based policy but does nothing of the kind.
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Posted in Appropriate inference, Appropriate measurement, Business & industry, Causal inference, Government programs, Health | Tagged , | 1 Comment