A Framework for Mixed Stakeholders and Mixed Methods

Abstract

Balancing stakeholder expectations and requirements is frequently a challenge for the ethical researcher contracted to evaluate government‑funded community projects. Invariably these projects involve people from diverse backgrounds with their own agenda and expectations for the project. This was the scenario for adopting a mixed‑method evaluation of Wellington's Smart Newtown community computing project where free Internet access as well as some computer skills training was made available at the newly‑established computing centres. The four‑year, multiple stakeholder evaluation project involved qualitative and quantitative approaches, situated within a five‑purpose conceptual framework of: triangulation, complementarily, development, initiation, and expansion. The framework provided a robust platform that ensured a systematic and thorough approach in both collection and analysis of data. In this paper we describe the application of each "purpose" of the framework to the different data sets that resulted in an objective, impartial evaluation which was subsequently used for deciding future directions of publicly‑funded community computing centres.