Evaluation: Practical Guidelines

This guide is designed for those who lead projects intended to engage general audiences in science, social science, engineering, and technology and the social, ethical, and political issues that new research in these areas raises. It is designed for capturing the impact of research and its process and sharing good practice by moving from a monologue approach to a dialogue style. The evaluation techniques included are based on market and social research methods.

From the introduction:
"The guide has five main sections and a series of annexes.

• Section 1 - Introduction
• Section 2 looks at building an evaluation strategy and also provides an overview of evaluation – what it’s about, what it can do, what it can’t do and how you should report your findings. It should also help you in making an application for funding...
• Section 3 focuses on data collection. This section describes the different techniques, all of which stem from market and social research. It explains what different techniques can do and how you can make them work together.
• Section 4 gives guidance on how to analyse the data you’ve collected.
• Section 5 looks at how to draft your report.
• Annex 1 provides some detailed advice on constructing questionnaires and phrasing questions.
• Annex 2 provides an overview of what techniques to use depending on the information you want.
• Annex 3 is a glossary of terms.
• Annex 4 suggests some further reading."

As an example of section content, the "Gathering Data - Tools and Techniques" section includes guides to quantitative and qualitative research, observational research, keeping a visitors book, record keeping, and media impact.