Harrison, Elizabeth (2015) Anthropology and impact evaluation: a critical commentary. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 7 (2). pp. 146-159. ISSN 1943-9342
![]() |
PDF
- Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial. Download (513kB) |
Abstract
Quantitative and quasi-experimental methods have become popular in the evaluation of development impact. In response, several commentators have argued for more effective use of ‘mixed methods’. This paper engages with, and builds upon, this current criticism of more quantitatively based impact evaluation from the disciplinary perspective of anthropology. Focusing on one specific evaluation, of an irrigation project in Malawi, it asks what was missed and what was misunderstood in the quantitative focus that was adopted. The paper then reflects on the wider question that is raised of how
particular methods and perspectives can take centre stage and produce apparent ‘truths’ even in the face of evidence pointing in opposite directions. The overall argument is
that this is a matter of the politics of knowledge production and of how particular disciplinary perspectives may come to dominate.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | impact evaluation; anthropology; irrigation; Malawi |
Schools and Departments: | School of Global Studies > Anthropology |
Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology |
Depositing User: | Jayne Paulin |
Date Deposited: | 09 Apr 2015 13:54 |
Last Modified: | 30 Aug 2017 10:52 |
URI: | http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/53626 |
View download statistics for this item
📧 Request an updateProject Name | Sussex Project Number | Funder | Funder Ref |
---|---|---|---|
Innovations to Promote Growth among Small-scale Irrigators in Africa: An Ethnographic and Knowledge-Exchange Approach | G0983 | ESRC-ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL | ES/J009415/1 |