Evidence into policy

What counts as good evidence?

By 28/05/2013

Have a look at this research paper from the Research Unit for Research Utilisation (RURU) at the University of St Andrews, discussing how to create more for less with the use of evidence,

In Brief,

‘Making better use of evidence is essential if public services are to deliver more for less. Central to this challenge is the need for a clearer understanding about standards of evidence that can be applied to the research informing social policy. This paper reviews the extent to which it is possible to reach a workable consensus on ways of identifying and labelling evidence. It does this by exploring the efforts made to date and the debates that have ensued. Throughout, the focus is on evidence that is underpinned by research, rather than other sources of evidence such as expert opinion or stakeholder views.’

After setting the scene, the review and arguments are presented in five main sections:

Practice recommendations.

Hierarchies of evidence. 

Beyond hierarchies.

Strong evidence, or just good enough? 

The uses and impacts of standards of evidence and endorsing practices.

To continue reading about the standards of evidence follow the link below:

Title: What counts as good evidence? Author: Sandra Nutley, Alison Powell and Huw Davies Year: 2012