How are stakeholder approaches different from social science approaches?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The evaluation process as a whole, and the feedback process in particular, can only be understood in relation to the interests and perspectives of program stakeholders. Stakeholders are those individuals and groups who have some basis of concern with the program. They might be clients, staff, managers, funders, or the public. The board of a program or agency, the parents or spouses of clients, the foundations that award program grants, the auditors who monitor program spending, and members of Congress are all potential program stakeholders, and each has an interest in the outcome of any program evaluation. Some may fund the evaluation, some may provide research data, and some may review—and even approve—the research report (Martin & Kettner, 1996). Who the program stakeholders are and what role they play in the program evaluation will have tremendous consequences for the research.
Stakeholders are individuals and groups who have some basis of concern with the program.
Can you see the difference between evaluation research and traditional social science research? Unlike explanatory social science research, evaluation research is not designed to test the implications of a social theory; the basic issue is often just “What is the program’s impact?” Process evaluation often uses qualitative methods, but unlike traditional exploratory research, the goal is not to create a broad theoretical explanation for what is discovered; instead, the question is, “How does the program do what it does?” Unlike social science research, the researchers cannot design evaluation studies simply in accord with the highest scientific standards and the most important research questions; instead, it is program stakeholders who set the agenda, but there is no sharp boundary between the two: In their attempt to explain how and why the program has an impact and whether the program is needed, evaluation researchers often bring social theories into their projects.