Authenticity

Authenticity is defined as a report writer's attempt to present the voices of the evaluands integrated with the context of the action in a way that seems to correspond with and represent the lived experience of the evaluands. Claims of authenticity are best corroborated by the evaluand's supportive feedback on the report, perhaps as part of the pursuit of construct validity. Criteria to be satisfied include whether the report is accurate, has appropriate coverage, and is balanced and fair. Audio and visual recordings of the action do not in themselves provide authenticity when transcribed and otherwise interpreted by the evaluator, for they lack the experiential accounts and are, for all their detail, partial, like all other data. Evaluators who have employed the concept of authenticity in their work include Elliot Eisner, Rob Walker, Terry Denny, and Saville Kushner. The origins of the concept of authenticity can be found in The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau and also in the works of Camus and Heidegger.