Rapid Reconnaissance: Seeking Immediate Results

ABSTRACT This article aims to reorient evaluators to a methodology that has perhaps been overlooked in recent years but whose methods are likely to be used, at least in part. Rapid reconnaissance emerged in sociological and rural research in the 1960s as a fast data‐gathering and process evaluation tool that relies on multidisciplinary teams and information sharing between evaluators and professionals. Situated within developmental evaluation, rapid reconnaissance is often seen as a primer or first data‐gathering exercise to inform future research direction or focus. Three main tools used for conducting rapid reconnaissance are explored in this article: proxies, sondeo, and rapid assessment procedures. Proxies require multidisciplinary evaluators to have some experience in the area under investigation to know when data saturation has been reached. Sondeos help orient evaluators and researchers to the culture under investigation. Three major techniques make up rapid assessment procedures, but all rely on a holistic view in which communication is key. Recognizing that evaluators work in many settings, and not necessarily only in the settings where rapid reconnaissance first emerged, this article also explores rapid reconnaissance in the organizational and higher education sectors. Finally, the authors describe how they have used rapid reconnaissance as evaluators at the University of Southern Queensland in the context of course enhancement conversations.