What aspect of an evaluation is emphasized by qualitative methods?

Qualitative methods in evaluation focus on exploring human experiences and subjective meanings, making them particularly valuable for understanding the intricacies of people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This approach involves techniques such as interviews, focus groups, and open-ended surveys, which allow participants to share their perspectives in depth. By prioritizing the richness of individual narratives and contexts, qualitative methods provide insights that quantitative approaches, which hinge on numerical data and statistical analyses, cannot fully capture.

These methods help evaluators comprehend the 'why' and 'how' behind certain phenomena, rather than just the 'what' as seen in traditional metrics of performance and efficiency. In doing so, qualitative evaluations can uncover underlying motivations, cultural nuances, and personal stories that inform the evaluation process and outcomes more holistically. As a result, understanding human experiences is essential for creating effective programs and policies that resonate with the target populations.