Examining Objectivity and Bias in Realist Programme Theory Development

A realist evaluation or synthesis that is aimed at assessing ‘what works, for whom, under what circumstances and how’ in the arena of programme and policy assessment involves explicating the theories that underpin... [ view full abstract ]

A realist evaluation or synthesis that is aimed at assessing ‘what works, for whom, under what circumstances and how’ in the arena of programme and policy assessment involves explicating the theories that underpin programmes. At the outset of a given inquiry, these programme theories are deemed ‘candidate’ theories, which are then confirmed, refuted, or refined against available evidence. Theories can be brainstormed by asking questions such as ‘what is the logic of the programme?’ or ‘what is the best explanation as to how it works?’ Such lines of brainstorming can be furthered in a number of ways, including scrutinizing the theoretical and empirical literature around the topic, as well as involving key stakeholders and multi-disciplinary teams in theory development.

Candidate programme theories may look like educated or imagined speculations about how programs work, for whom, and under what kinds of circumstances. Yet the establishment of these theories are important because they serve to guide protocols, data collection, and analysis. Understandably self-reflective questions may arise: ‘How do we know that we got it right? ‘How do we know that our biases are not interfering?’
These are valid questions - after all, if the goals of realist inquiry are pragmatic – the improvement of programs and contexts for optimizing outcomes, it is important that the underling programme theories are accurate. What constitutes accuracy is a point of discussion and debate that will be encouraged through this presentation. I will provide a snapshot of how realist logic can be applied to understanding a realist perspective on research bias, strategies for optimizing positive bias and reducing negative bias - and will use the concepts of objectivity and subjectivity to explain the argument. Most importantly, this entails how the concepts of objectivity, subjectivity, and bias can be interpreted to improve on the goals of realist inquiry.