Faculty Directory
Emily Gates
Assistant Professor, Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment
Emily Gates
Ph.D.
Contact
Campion Hall Room 336D
Telephone: 617-552-8584
Email: emily.gates@bc.edu
Education
- B.A., New College of Florida
- Ed.M., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Research Interests
Research on evaluation; systems thinking and approaches; values and evaluative criteria; equity in evaluation
Expertise
- Mixed Methods Research
- Systems Thinking
- Evaluation Theory
- Theory of Change
- Program Evaluation
Department
MESA Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics & Assessment
IDPG Interdisciplinary Programs
Biography
Emily F. Gates is an evaluator, social scientist, and mixed methodologist. Her research focuses on the role of evaluation in addressing complex problems and changing systems. Driven by a democratic vision for evaluation, she advances evaluation theory, methods, and practice that use systems thinking and approaches, make values explicit, and center equity. Her work has been published in the American Journal of Evaluation, Evaluation and Program Planning, and Evaluation: The International Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice as well as handbooks of evaluation, systems thinking, and qualitative research.
As an evaluator, she has worked on a variety of mixed methods evaluations primarily in K-12 schooling, higher education, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and public health, particularly tobacco control and prevention. She currently leads evaluations of a K-12 principal leadership program, Lynch Leadership Academy, and NSF-funded Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship and consults on evaluations and trainings.
She teaches graduate courses in evaluation, mixed methods research, and theory of change and currently serves as co-chair of the Systems in Evaluation group within the American Evaluation Association. Prior to joining BC, Gates was an evaluation fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a former teacher.
Publications
Books
- Schwandt, T.A. & Gates, E.F. (2021, in press). Evaluating and Valuing in Social Research. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Peer-reviewed Articles
- Gates, E.F., Walton, M., Vidueira, P., & McNall, M. (2021, in press). Introducing systems and complexity-informed evaluation. In E.F. Gates, M. Walton, & P. Vidueira (Eds.), Systems- and Complexity-informed Evaluation: Insights from Practice. New Directions for Evaluation.
- Gates, E.F., Fils-Aime, F. (2021, in press). System change evaluation: Insights from the Rippel Foundation & Its ReThink Health Initiative. In E.F. Gates, M. Walton, & P. Vidueira (Eds.), Systems- and Complexity-informed Evaluation: Insights from Practice. New Directions for Evaluation.
- Walton, M., Gates, E.F., & Vidueira, P. (2021, in press). Insights and future directions for systems- and complexity-informed evaluation. In E.F. Gates, M. Walton, & P. Vidueira (Eds.), Systems- and Complexity-informed Evaluation: Insights from Practice. New Directions for Evaluation.
- Glover-Kudon, R. M., & Gates, E. F. (2021). The Role of Quitlines in Tobacco Cessation: An Introduction. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 60(3), S99–S102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.12.003
- Kallemeyn, L., Hall, J., & Gates, E. (2019). Exploring the relevance of complexity theory for mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research. Published online here.
- Prochaska, J.J., Gates, E., Davis, K., Gutierrez, K., Prutzman, Y., & Rodes, R. (2019). The 2016 Tips From Former Smokers® Campaign: Associations with Quit Intentions and Quit Attempts among Smokers with and without Mental Health Conditions. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 21(5), p. 576-583.
- Gates, E. F. (2018). Towards valuing with critical systems heuristics. American Journal of Evaluation. 39(2), pp. 201-220.
- Gates, E. F. (2017). Learning from seasoned evaluators: Implications of systems approaches for evaluation practice. Evaluation. 23(2), pp. 152-171.
- Gates, E. & Dyson, L. (2017). Implications of the changing conversation about causality for evaluators. American Journal of Evaluation, 38(1), pp. 29-46.
- Reynolds, M., Gates, E., Hummelbrunner, R., Williams, B., & Marra, M. (2016). Towards systemic evaluation. Systems Research & Behavioural Science, 33, pp. 662-673.
- Gates, E. F. (2016) Making sense of the emerging conversation in evaluation about systems thinking and complexity science. Evaluation and Program Planning, 59, pp. 62-73.
Book Chapters
- Gates, E.F. & Muniz, R. (2021, in press). Critical systems heuristics. In Routledge Handbook of Systems Thinking. (Eds.) Cabrera, D., Cabrera, L., and Midgley, G. Routledge. London, UK.
- Gates, E.F. & Schwandt, T.A. (forthcoming, 2020). Valuing in evaluation. In Rog, D. and Bickman, L. (Eds). The Evaluation Handbook: An Evaluator’s Companion. New York, NY: Guilford Press
- Schwandt, T. A. & Gates, E. F. (2016). What can evaluation do? An agenda for evaluation in service of an equitable society. In Donaldson, S. and Picciotto, R. (Eds.) Evaluation for an Equitable Society (pp. 67-81). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
- Schwandt, T. A. & Gates, E. F. (2018). Case study methodology. In Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research 5th ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Grants & Fellowships Awarded
- Gates, E. (2020). Strengthening Evaluation Capacity & Inclusivity: A Landscape Analysis of Evaluation Providers in the New England Area. Barr Foundation.
- Albert, L. (PI), Gates, E. (sub-contracted evaluator). Evaluation of Exemplary Mathematics Educators for High-Need Schools: Equity and Leadership.
- Gates, E. (PI) (2019-2022). Network-Based School System Change Thru Personalized Learning: Evaluation of Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium (MAPLE). Boston College Collaborative Fellows grant.
- Gates, E. & Muñiz, R. (2019-2020). (Co-PIs, listed alphabetically). Equitable System Change: Learning From Cases in Education and Health. Boston College Research Incentive Grant.
- Gates, E. (2019-ongoing). Evaluation of Lynch Leadership Academy. Internal contract.