Walton Mat
School of Health and Social Services, Massey University, New Zealand.
Eval Program Plann. 2014 Aug;45:119-26. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2014.04.002. Epub 2014 Apr 13.
Complexity theory has increasingly been discussed and applied within evaluation literature over the past decade. This article reviews the discussion and use of complexity theory within academic journal literature. The aim is to identify the issues to be considered when applying complexity theory to evaluation. Reviewing 46 articles, two groups of themes are identified. The first group considers implications of applying complexity theory concepts for defining evaluation purpose, scope and units of analysis. The second group of themes consider methodology and method. Results provide a starting point for a configuration of an evaluation approach consistent with complexity theory, whilst also identifying a number of design considerations to be resolved within evaluation planning.
在过去十年中，复杂性理论在评估文献中得到了越来越多的讨论和应用。本文回顾了学术期刊文献中对复杂性理论的讨论和运用。目的是确定将复杂性理论应用于评估时需要考虑的问题。通过对46篇文章的回顾，确定了两组主题。第一组主题考虑了应用复杂性理论概念对评估目的、范围和分析单位的影响。第二组主题考虑了方法论和方法。研究结果为构建与复杂性理论相一致的评估方法提供了一个起点，同时也确定了一些在评估规划中需要解决的设计考量因素。
