Evaluated Participation or EP

Evaluated Participation or EP ‘is posed on the proposition that those who interact in the social system of a community evaluate the participation of those around them, that the place where an individual participates is evaluated, and that the members of the community are explicitly or implicitly aware of the ranking and translate their evaluations of such participation into social class rating…’(Warner, 1960: 35). Using the EP method, classes have been identified.

Six different techniques for measuring EP have been evolved and used. These are:

1. Rating by Matched Agreements. The researchers ask their sample of respondents to tell the different ranks that exist in their community and recount their main attributes. The class levels and their designations are then determined and charted. The list of names thus obtained from a select group of informants is then compared for agreement on class placement. Finally, each name with its class placement by a given informant is paired with the class placement by another informant and the amount of agreement and disagreement among the pairs counted.
2. Symbolic Placement. People are placed in a particular class by referring to the structure of their house, or the region in which they reside, or the social traits they display.
3. Status Reputation. The researchers accept any qualification that is utilized to place a person higher or lower.
4. Rating by Comparison. The following ratings are generally employed by the respondents:X is the known personY and Z are the known persons or institutionsX is equal to Y; Y is equal to ×X is lower than ZX is lower than Y and higher than Z 
5. Simple Agreement. When an informant definitely states that the subject of reference definitely belongs, or does not belong, to a given category.Examples:X is in the upper-middleclass She is married into the ‘top crowd’He/she was dropped by society-set 
6. Institutional Membership. Social standing of the various institutions, such as clubs or associations, or parties is always evaluated by the members of the community. Since a person is known by the company he/she keeps, this technique is used to discover the social status of the person by reviewing that person’s institutional affiliation.