Evaluation ethics checklist

Complete this worksheet during planning and recheck it during implementation and reporting. Early identification and response to ethical problems is the principle.

When to use this worksheet and what completion involves Fictional completed example

EvalCompass Worksheet

Evaluation ethics checklist

Method: Evaluation Ethics

Complete this worksheet during planning and recheck it during implementation and reporting. Early identification and response to ethical problems is the principle.

Basic information

Enter basic evaluation details and ethics review conditions

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Evaluation name: Evaluation of experiences of life consultation service users (fictional)
Evaluator and organization: Researcher A, fictional evaluation office
Evaluation commissioner: Fictional support organization B
Review date: September 13, 2026
Review stage (design/implementation/reporting): Design stage

Reason for this entry: Clarify the review stage, including relationships with the commissioner.

Evaluation name

Evaluator and organization

Evaluation commissioner

Review date

Review stage (design/implementation/reporting)

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Enter basic evaluation details and ethics review conditions

Clarify the review stage, including relationships with the commissioner.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Follow each field’s heading to record the program name, focus, period, and other details. Leave undecided matters clearly marked as unresolved.

Read the full fictional example

Conflicts of interest and independence check

Check the following items and enter concerns and responses where necessary

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

☑ Checked: Employment, contractual and financial relationships between evaluator and commissioner have been checked and disclosed
☑ Checked: The evaluator's past or current involvement in the evaluated program or policy has been checked
☑ Checked: Where conflicts undermine fairness, the assignment has been declined or conflicts disclosed and responses agreed
☑ Checked: Procedures for commissioner pressure to change findings or conclusions were agreed during contracting
☑ Checked: Evaluations primarily for accountability are conducted externally or from an independent position

Reason for this entry: In this fictional setting, A discloses a previous staff training contract and documents a proposal for an independent reviewer. Requests to change conclusions will be recorded and discussed.

Employment, contractual and financial relationships between evaluator and commissioner have been checked and disclosed
The evaluator's past or current involvement in the evaluated program or policy has been checked
Where conflicts undermine fairness, the assignment has been declined or conflicts disclosed and responses agreed
Procedures for commissioner pressure to change findings or conclusions were agreed during contracting
Evaluations primarily for accountability are conducted externally or from an independent position

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Check the following items and enter concerns and responses where necessary

In this fictional setting, A discloses a previous staff training contract and documents a proposal for an independent reviewer. Requests to change conclusions will be recorded and discussed.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Read each item and check those you have confirmed. Do not use the fictional example’s checkbox states as findings about your own program.

Read the full fictional example

Informed consent and participant protection

Enter participant information and consent arrangements

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Participant group	Explanation content (purpose, uses, right to decline, etc.)	Consent method (written/oral)	Special considerations for vulnerable groups	Implemented (〇/×)
Adult service users	Purpose, voluntary participation, no effect on support if declining, scope of use and withdrawal	Written consent after an accessible information sheet and oral confirmation	Explain without support staff present. Check needs for a preferred support person or interpreter.	×
Consultation office staff	Scope of use for work evaluation, confidentiality and publication of statements	Written consent after explanation	Avoid supervisors' presence and confirm that individual statements will not be passed to personnel appraisals	×

Reason for this entry: As this is a pre-study plan, do not mark consent as already obtained.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Participant group	Explanation content (purpose, uses, right to decline, etc.)	Consent method (written/oral)	Special considerations for vulnerable groups	Implemented (〇/×)

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Enter participant information and consent arrangements

As this is a pre-study plan, do not mark consent as already obtained.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Keep the information in each row aligned. Scroll wide tables horizontally to see every column.

Read the full fictional example

Data protection, anonymization and confidentiality

Check privacy protection and data management plans

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

☑ Checked: Data storage locations and access permissions are clearly specified
☑ Checked: Anonymization and pseudonymization procedures for identifying information are established
☑ Checked: Arrangements restrict data use to the scope of participants' consent
☑ Checked: Management and disposal dates for audio, video and transcripts are determined
☐ Not checked: Compliance with applicable privacy laws, such as Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information, has been checked

Reason for this entry: Storage, restricted access, pseudonymization, purposes of use and planned deletion have been designed. Staff confirmation of applicable laws and organizational rules remains pending.

Data storage locations and access permissions are clearly specified
Anonymization and pseudonymization procedures for identifying information are established
Arrangements restrict data use to the scope of participants' consent
Management and disposal dates for audio, video and transcripts are determined
Compliance with applicable privacy laws, such as Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information, has been checked

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Check privacy protection and data management plans

Storage, restricted access, pseudonymization, purposes of use and planned deletion have been designed. Staff confirmation of applicable laws and organizational rules remains pending.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Read each item and check those you have confirmed. Do not use the fictional example’s checkbox states as findings about your own program.

Read the full fictional example

Reporting integrity and disclosure policy

Check ethical matters concerning reporting

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

☑ Checked: A policy of honest, evidence-based reporting without distortion from bias or pressure has been confirmed
☑ Checked: Evaluation funding sources and commissioner will be disclosed in the report
☑ Checked: Confirmed facts, including those inconvenient to the commissioner, will be described frankly
☑ Checked: A shared policy prevents improper rewriting and provides prompt notification of error corrections with evidence and change histories
☑ Checked: Procedures for presenting differing views or adding notes where agreement is impossible are clear

Reason for this entry: This example sets reporting procedures to record positive and negative findings, funding relationships, revision histories and disagreements. Findings have not yet been collected or published.

A policy of honest, evidence-based reporting without distortion from bias or pressure has been confirmed
Evaluation funding sources and commissioner will be disclosed in the report
Confirmed facts, including those inconvenient to the commissioner, will be described frankly
A shared policy prevents improper rewriting and provides prompt notification of error corrections with evidence and change histories
Procedures for presenting differing views or adding notes where agreement is impossible are clear

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Check ethical matters concerning reporting

This example sets reporting procedures to record positive and negative findings, funding relationships, revision histories and disagreements. Findings have not yet been collected or published.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Read each item and check those you have confirmed. Do not use the fictional example’s checkbox states as findings about your own program.

Read the full fictional example

Cultural responsiveness and equity

Examine consideration for participant diversity and evaluation fairness, including cultural background, gender, religion, language and vulnerability

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Check language and readability, interpreter confidentiality, dependence on support staff and concerns about declining participation in advance. For individual quotations, check reidentification risk and consent scope; use aggregated explanations if quotation is impracticable.

Reason for this entry: Do not assume that distributing the same information sheet ensures everyone's understanding.

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Examine consideration for participant diversity and evaluation fairness, including cultural background, gender, religion, language and vulnerability

Do not assume that distributing the same information sheet ensures everyone's understanding.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Use the example as a reference and record what you have established about your own program. Distinguish assumptions and unchecked matters from confirmed facts.

Read the full fictional example

Before writing, check when to use the worksheet and what completion involves

Evaluation ethics checklist is a worksheet for applying Evaluation Ethics in meetings or individual work. For the overall duration of the method, use “Illustrative estimate (adjust for scale and team): applied continuously throughout evaluation (0.5–1 day for initial risk identification)” as a reference, adjusting for scale and resources. Fill in what you know provisionally and leave unresolved matters as questions to check next.

When this worksheet is useful

When identifying ethical risks and designing responses during evaluation planning
In every evaluation involving research with people, including interviews or observation
When participants include people in vulnerable circumstances, such as children, refugees or people with disabilities

Participants and preparation

All team members are responsible for ethical compliance. IRB review is desirable for large evaluations or those involving vulnerable groups.

Bring the materials used for decisions, existing data, and differing stakeholder views to help complete the worksheet.

Suggested order

1. Basic informationEnter basic evaluation details and ethics review conditions
2. Conflicts of interest and independence checkCheck the following items and enter concerns and responses where necessary
3. Informed consent and participant protectionEnter participant information and consent arrangements
4. Data protection, anonymization and confidentialityCheck privacy protection and data management plans
5. Reporting integrity and disclosure policyCheck ethical matters concerning reporting
6. Cultural responsiveness and equityExamine consideration for participant diversity and evaluation fairness, including cultural background, gender, religion, language and vulnerability

Signs the worksheet is ready for review

Ethical risk assessment record
Signed informed consent forms
Conflict of interest disclosure

Cautions for review

Treating informed consent as paperwork without checking actual understanding and agreement
Checking conflicts only after completion, discovering them after fairness has been compromised. Disclosure before accepting the assignment is the principle.
Responding ambiguously to commissioner pressure to remove or change inconvenient findings. Specify agreed change procedures in the contract in advance.

Guides to read before starting

Read a completed fictional example (your entries will not change)

Fictional example; not actual results

The following is a fictional example for illustration. Interviews with life consultation service users are planned, separating support from study participation.

Basic information

Evaluation name: Evaluation of experiences of life consultation service users (fictional)
Evaluator and organization: Researcher A, fictional evaluation office
Evaluation commissioner: Fictional support organization B
Review date: September 13, 2026
Review stage (design/implementation/reporting): Design stage

Reason for this entry: Clarify the review stage, including relationships with the commissioner.

Conflicts of interest and independence check

☑ Checked: Employment, contractual and financial relationships between evaluator and commissioner have been checked and disclosed
☑ Checked: The evaluator's past or current involvement in the evaluated program or policy has been checked
☑ Checked: Where conflicts undermine fairness, the assignment has been declined or conflicts disclosed and responses agreed
☑ Checked: Procedures for commissioner pressure to change findings or conclusions were agreed during contracting
☑ Checked: Evaluations primarily for accountability are conducted externally or from an independent position

Informed consent and participant protection

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Participant group	Explanation content (purpose, uses, right to decline, etc.)	Consent method (written/oral)	Special considerations for vulnerable groups	Implemented (〇/×)
Adult service users	Purpose, voluntary participation, no effect on support if declining, scope of use and withdrawal	Written consent after an accessible information sheet and oral confirmation	Explain without support staff present. Check needs for a preferred support person or interpreter.	×
Consultation office staff	Scope of use for work evaluation, confidentiality and publication of statements	Written consent after explanation	Avoid supervisors' presence and confirm that individual statements will not be passed to personnel appraisals	×

Reason for this entry: As this is a pre-study plan, do not mark consent as already obtained.

Data protection, anonymization and confidentiality

☑ Checked: Data storage locations and access permissions are clearly specified
☑ Checked: Anonymization and pseudonymization procedures for identifying information are established
☑ Checked: Arrangements restrict data use to the scope of participants' consent
☑ Checked: Management and disposal dates for audio, video and transcripts are determined
☐ Not checked: Compliance with applicable privacy laws, such as Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information, has been checked

Reporting integrity and disclosure policy

☑ Checked: A policy of honest, evidence-based reporting without distortion from bias or pressure has been confirmed
☑ Checked: Evaluation funding sources and commissioner will be disclosed in the report
☑ Checked: Confirmed facts, including those inconvenient to the commissioner, will be described frankly
☑ Checked: A shared policy prevents improper rewriting and provides prompt notification of error corrections with evidence and change histories
☑ Checked: Procedures for presenting differing views or adding notes where agreement is impossible are clear

Cultural responsiveness and equity

Reason for this entry: Do not assume that distributing the same information sheet ensures everyone's understanding.

Common errors in judgment

Assume a signed consent form permits any publication

How to revise: Check the explained purpose and scope and the possibility of reidentification

Reason: This aligns consent with actual publication content.

Quietly delete findings inconvenient to the commissioner

How to revise: Retain reasons for revisions and differing views, responding according to reporting conditions

Reason: This preserves evaluation integrity and accountability.

Editorial and checking information

Content updated: 2026-10-07Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)No documented human reviewIncludes fictional examplesEditorial policy and scope of checking Cite this page Report a correction

References and checked sections

Guiding Principles
American Evaluation Association · Updated in 2025
Section consulted
Introduction; Integrity; Respect for People; Common Good and Equity
How it relates to the text
Continuously examine evaluators' conflicts of interest and power relationships alongside respect for participants and avoidance of harm.
Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)

How to cite this page

EvalCompass Editorial Team. “Evaluation ethics checklist”. EvalCompass, updated 2026-10-07. https://evalcompass.jun-nakatani.com/en/worksheets/evaluation-ethics/

Add the date you accessed the page. Text created by this site is available under CC BY 4.0. Quotations, external materials, and bundled fonts have their own terms of use. When reusing content, credit the source, link to the license, and indicate any changes.

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Change history

2026-10-07 — Corrected descriptions and procedures identified through content checks (U01). Preserved input field order, counts, labels and section structure.
2026-09-13 — Updated explanations to correspond with sources, and added method-specific fictional worksheet examples, judgment examples and revision history.