The evaluation field in general loves to debate and discuss the important issues surrounding evaluation. One longstanding topic (if there is anything more longstanding than the quantitative/qualitative debate :) is the difference between evaluation and research.
There are many opinions, and there probably is no right or wrong answer, but since this is my blog, I get to state my opinions and experiences to my heart's content. :)
As I understand it, both research and evaluation ask what is. Then research asks why, which indicates a theoretical basis, whereas evaluation asks what should be, which makes reference to the standards and criteria of evaluations.
That is not to say that evaluation never asks why, or even that research never asks what should be. However, in the evaluation field, we are making a value judgment about the merit or worth of a program, product, or process. We find out what the situation is (i.e., the current state, if you will, of the evaluand), what the criteria (i.e., what should the evaluand be doing) and standards (i.e., what is our level of acceptability for the criteria) are for the evaluand, and then we judge the worth of the evaluand based on those criteria and standards.
Research, on the other hand, seeks to understand what the situation is, but then probes into why the situation is that way and how we can better understand the situation with regard to developing, expanding, and testing various theories.
In the evaluation field, both evaluation and research are necessary to further the work and to train evaluators. The area of evaluation research in particular deals with conducting research about evaluation (as opposed to conducting evaluations). We seek to understand why evaluations happen (or do not happen) in particular ways. We develop evaluation theories (although some choose to refer to them as models) to try to explain these occurrences, and continuously test these theories in different environments.
Evaluation and research form a symbiotic relationship. Evaluators, in turn, seek to understand and learn from both.
That's great to understand. It certainly seems that once something is understood that's a perfect lead into fixing or improving something. What a valuable skill!