Describe and explain how one’s writing style affects the dissemination of evaluation findings and evaluation reporting.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Often evaluation reports are written as if they are being submitted to a refereed publication where the value will be based on the methodological rigor, which requires complete and full disclosure of all details of the evaluation. Again, we are revisiting the tricky balance required to construct a reliable evaluation report. The report needs to be written in a fashion that is accessible to the readers but also addresses the tension to fully disclose the details of the method. This transparency about the method also provides some credibility by making the procedures for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data very clear. The written description of the method and respective findings is sometimes difficult to boil down to easily digestible nuggets when a complex evaluation design or sophisticated statistical technique is employed. Writing is a central component of the many ways to spread the word about evaluation findings. Agency practitioners are more interested in the practice implications of your findings and most likely less interested in the technical aspects of your research method. Furthermore, while many of your potential users have had, and most likely did well, in research classes, it is not their natural orientation to adopt the frameworks of an evaluation researcher, so the written material needs to be clear and straightforward. In research classes, students have been asked to think about the audience as a relative who does not work in the field. This material needs to be stated in a way that can be easily grasped by a person who is not in the field. Involve agency staff in all facets of the evaluation process. This is particularly relevant to the development of written materials to disseminate the findings. Agency staff should be involved in reviewing written materials and providing feedback about clarity and readability.