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In light of the discussion happening on the listserv with regard to the criteria of merit, I wanted to tie the general conclusions regarding generation of the COM to the value of goal-free evaluation. My take on this was that it is a good idea to discuss with your client before hand the criteria he wants evaluated, but that the actual list generation should be a product of the evaluator doing her own research, interviews, and decisions. In this way, we are being more objective, and therefore lending more validity to our evaluation. I believe this is closely entwined with goal-free evaluation. In WSF, p. 94, it states that in objectives -orienting evaluation, an evaluator is told the goals of the project and therefore wearing blinders that prevent her from seeing important outcomes not directly related to those specific goals.