Realist evaluation analysis is a type of applied sociology that is based on the philosophical logic of critical realism, developed by Ray Pawson and Nick Tilley, and developed by others. Realist evaluation analysis criticizes other evaluation analyses, including experimental, constructivist, pragmatist, and pluralist, and believes that these evaluations cannot identify the main mechanisms that activate the outcome in the evaluation of policies and programs. Experimental evaluation, by emphasizing the sequence of variable X and then Y, pays attention to the mechanism that the program does not have in the social context. Controlling the context means eliminating the talents and capacities that actors lose when entering the program. In realist evaluation analysis, the combination of intervention-mechanism-context-outcome is used. By entering the context, programs activate (or de-activate) mechanisms and processes that ultimately determine the desired outcome of the program. From their perspective, programs contain ideas and assumptions about the context and the interaction of those mechanisms. If a program fails, evaluators refine the theory in the program and its policy by examining and modifying it. Evaluators, in continuous interaction with policymakers, implementers, and participants, refine and continuously refine the theory of programs, and put it in a better condition for the next action.
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