Reporting

Reporting has, historically, consisted primarily of comprehensive written reports prepared and delivered by the evaluator as one-way communication to evaluation audiences. This approach follows the traditions of social science research reporting, where objectivity, replicability, and comprehensiveness are standard criteria of quality. The primary burden of the evaluation's utility is placed on the content of the report and its use by evaluation clients and audiences. Indeed, early complaints about evaluations focused on their lack of use, citing in particular that reports went unread and findings were not considered. To improve use, evaluators have more recently begun to employ varied and interactive forms of reporting—often (but not always) in addition to traditional, comprehensive written reports. The defining characteristics of evaluation reporting are its purposes, audiences, content, and ...