Argument

In an evaluation context, argument is the frame-work, or methodological reasoning, used to persuade an audience of the worth or value of something. Rarely do evaluations find definitive answers or compelling conclusions; most often, evaluations appeal to an audience's reason and understanding to persuade people that the findings of an evaluation are plausible and actionable. Different audiences want different information from an evaluation and will find different constructions of that information compelling. Evaluators use information and data collected during the evaluation process to make different arguments to different audiences or stakeholders of the evaluation. Evaluation is a process of deriving criteria for what counts as important in the evaluation (either as an expert, in concert with program managers or staff, or through participatory processes for ...