Evaluation Domains/Week 1

Where do definitions legitimately come from?
 * 1. Some from a common-sense attempt to describe usage:
 * 2. Some from somebody who had invented the term;
 * 3. Some from dictionaries; which may or may not be any good. ; Disappointingly OED has done badly on evaluation terms over the years.
 * * Where the definitions come from, and how good they are, is crucial when talking about the evaluation space.

I’ll talk about that, not this time, but next time as part of the discussion of Evaluation Specific methodology.

There are some places in evaluation where you can make a mark: but there are constraints on how inventive you can be:

Example; use of rubrics in marking student essays: Passing grade; but you’ve got to be willing to argue for the rightness of the evaluation;

More of the story is how kids learn what a good apple is compared to a bad apple; Definitional;

When kids learn term apple they learn number of characteristics quasi-definitional; “roughly this size, not this size” - (J; think back to seeing new apple. . .definitions are provided)

We get a lot of our evaluative [Predicates] out of common language; but they’re not entirely arbitrary.

Argue case that something is a good answer; - getting to premises; of form, “If it’s X

Sounds plausible; can’t remember the details of how he sets that up

Three Variables; that represent most of the action in evaluation:
 * 1. Merit
 * 2. Worth
 * 3. Significance

Significance depends on the local values, indeed; -

The discovery of the facts and the coding of which attributes of the facts depend on the value; - useful to track that; history of sociology; psychology of scientists; – that’s a legitimate discipline in and of itself.

The question is whether that is argued against by anybody. - They think of something as wrong; - most scientists go to bat for ––––

- Facts change.

Significance - evaluation within disciplines; Intra-Disciplinary Evaluation