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Writing an evaluation report Following are some suggestions that may help you prepare a useful evaluation report. First, organize the report into sections or chapters, each of which should present information about a particular phase of the project. Many reports contain the following main sections:
Dividing the main sections into subsections helps the reader move from one point to the next in the report. When used, subsections should be identified by headings. Second, write simply and briefly. Keep sentences short. Avoid social science terminology. Use everyday language to the extent possible. Anther way to simplify reporting is to use tables or figures to show the key results. Well designed figures often help officials grasp the meaning of the results. Use of figures can also reduce the length of a report, which, in itself, encourages persons to read the report. Chapter 17 shows how to develop tables and figures. Third, leave methodological and design details out of the report. Most readers will not want to know all these details; putting them in can discourage some readers from reading the report. If you believe it is necessary to describe the details related to measurement, sampling or data collection, for example, put them in appendices at the end of the report. However, we want to warn you against making a report appear too long. Short is better. If the appendices make the report look much longer than it really is, we suggest you drop them. Fourth, after writing the report, it is a good idea to prepare a brief executive summary of the report. Some summaries are as short as one page, rarely being more than five pages. The purpose of the executive summary is to give readers the highlights of the study. A summary usually includes a statement about why the study was undertaken, a statement of the objectives of the study, a very brief description of the design of the study with a similarly brief description of how, when and from whom data were obtained, the essential results of the study, the conclusions, and perhaps some recommendations. Each statement or description is presented in a sentence or two or at the most in a brief paragraph. Executive summaries can be presented in one of two ways. The summary can be included as the first section of the report or it can be prepared as a separate document with a title sheet followed by the summary. The second option is recommended when the report is long. Persons are less likely to begin reading longer reports and therefore might miss even the short summary at the beginning of the report. They are more likely to read a separate short summary and learn what was found. Then, if they want more details they can examine the main report. One final suggestion, generally it is also useful to allow stakeholders to review the report in draft form. This can be done in a meeting with stakeholders in which the evaluator verbally presents the result and conclusions or by circulating copies of the draft report for comment. Comments by stakeholders often suggest ways in which the analyses can be improved and lead to more firmly established conclusions and recommendations. Qualitative evaluations Qualitative methods of evaluation include use of unstructured interviews, casual and participant observation, and use of focus groups. These techniques are particularly valuable for:
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