This handout relates to the Writing your Report webinar and covers the following: Advice on what to do after you have completed your report

Transcription

1 The Ryal Sciety fr the Preventin f Accidents Writing yur Reprt Rad Safety Evaluatin Webinar Handut: Writing yur Reprt Evaluatin webinar handut Intrductin This handut relates t the Writing yur Reprt webinar and cvers the fllwing: Tips fr writing yur reprt An example f a general reprt structure Advice n what t d after yu have cmpleted yur reprt The benefits f publishing yur reprt Reprt writing tips Once yu have cmpleted yur evaluatin prject, yu will need t write up yur findings in a reprt. Tips fr staying rganised Dn t just set ne deadline fr cmpleting the reprt. It is useful t set yurself deadlines fr each sectin t make the reprt seem a mre manageable task. Start writing the intrductin f yur reprt while yur evaluatin prject is in draft frm. Start writing yur methdlgy sectin while yu are ding the evaluatin. Dn t leave all f yur referencing until the end! It can becme very cnfusing if yu dn t d it as yu g alng. Make sure yu factr in time fr yu, yur team and stakehlders t review a draft f the reprt befre the final deadline. 28 Calthrpe Rad, Edgbastn, Birmingham B15 1RP Telephne Registered Charity N:

2 The Ryal Sciety fr the Preventin f Accidents Rad Safety Evaluatin Webinar Handut: Writing yur Reprt Keep yur cmputer well rganised. It is useful t have a previus versins flder where yu can keep previus versins f sectins f yur reprt. This can be really helpful t anyne wh jins the prject later. Think abut the kind f reprt yu wuld like t prduce and the places yu wuld like t publish it while yu are planning yur evaluatin. It is easy t leave it until the end and then realise yu have run ut f time and mney. Tips fr writing style and frmat Use simple and cncise sentences. Write in plain English! It is best t avid using t many jargn terms and acrnyms, as these might be hard t understand fr sme f yur audience. Use headings t make yur reprt easy t navigate. Give tables and graphs a number. These shuld be clear enugh fr peple t understand withut a lengthy descriptin. Yu will als need t maintain a clear referencing style thrughut the reprt. There are sme tls yu can use t generate references, such as nline reference generatrs r the referencing functin in Micrsft Wrd. Dn t assume any appendix will be read. If the reprt desn t make any sense withut it; it shuld be included in the main bdy f yur reprt. 28 Calthrpe Rad, Edgbastn, Birmingham B15 1RP Telephne Registered Charity N:

3 The Ryal Sciety fr the Preventin f Accidents Rad Safety Evaluatin Webinar Handut: Writing yur Reprt Referencing frmat Referencing a bk: Authr, Initials (Year) Title f Bk in Italics, editin number, Place f publicatin: Publisher Referencing a jurnal article: Authr, Initials (Year) Title f Jurnal article, Name f the Jurnal in italics, Vlume number: Page numbers Referencing a web page: Authr r Authring Organisatin (Year published r last updated) Title f web page, URL, Date accessed: Date Cnsidering yur audience/purpse The style and cntent f yur reprt is likely t be influenced by the audience f yur reprt. This audience culd include: Senir management and elected members- this audience are likely t want evidence f hw effective yur interventin was, and infrmatin t help them determine whether funding was well spent n this prject. External parties and stakehlders- such as cmmunity grups and the plice. These parties are likely t be interested in what effects their cntributin t the prject had. Other rad safety bdies- this audience are likely t want t knw if what yu did had a psitive r negative effect. Yur reprt culd als cntribute t their evidence base if they are planning an interventin. Yur clleagues- will mst likely use yur reprt t help them plan future interventins. 28 Calthrpe Rad, Edgbastn, Birmingham B15 1RP Telephne Registered Charity N:

4 The Ryal Sciety fr the Preventin f Accidents Rad Safety Evaluatin Webinar Handut: Writing yur Reprt What shuld I include in my reprt? If this is the first evaluatin reprt yu have written, yu might like t use the e-valu-it tlkit t help yu write yur reprt. The tlkit has an interactive questinnaire, which cnsists f a number f questins abut yur interventin and yur plans fr evaluatin. Once yu have answered the questinnaire, the tlkit will generate an autmatic reprt template fr yu based n yur respnses t the questins, which can be helpful if yu are unsure where t start. If yu wuld like t write yur reprt withut the tlkit, include the fllwing sectins: Executive summary (ptinal)- this sectin is recmmended if yur reprt is particularly lengthy. This shuld summarise the main findings f yur reprt and shuld be n lnger than tw sides f A4, split int headings fr readability. Intrductin- in this sectin yu shuld intrduce the rad safety issue yur interventin aims t address, and detail the interventin that tk place and wh it was aimed at. Yu shuld als include any evidence yu have used t back up the apprach yu have taken t delivering yur interventin and the aims and bjectives f yur prject. Methdlgy- explain hw the evaluatin was cnducted, including the methds yu used and the purpse f the evaluatin. There shuld als be sme descriptin f hw the data was analysed. Results- this sectin shuld describe what yu have fund. If yu cllected quantitative data, yur findings shuld be reprted in tables and graphs. If yu cllected qualitative data, yu shuld use a selectin f qutes t illustrate the themes f yur data. Discussin (ptinal)- discuss and interpret the results f yur evaluatin in mre depth. Cnclusins- prvide an verall summary f yur results, discussing whether yu have met yur bjectives. Yu shuld als state what yur results mean in the wider cntext f the rad safety issue yu are addressing. Recmmendatins- in this sectin, write dwn what yu think shuld be dne n the basis f what yu have fund. If yu did nt meet yur bjectives, cnsider hw yu can ensure that they culd be met in future. Even if yu did meet yur bjectives, yur recmmendatins can be based upn further imprvements t yur interventin. It is imprtant t nte that this sectin f the reprt can als be used t recmmend changes in plicy if yur findings suggest that this is apprpriate. 28 Calthrpe Rad, Edgbastn, Birmingham B15 1RP Telephne Registered Charity N:

5 The Ryal Sciety fr the Preventin f Accidents Rad Safety Evaluatin Webinar Handut: Writing yur Reprt Review and feedback The whle pint f an evaluatin is t see hw smething is wrking and the ways in which yu can imprve it. Instead f filing the reprt n a shelf, yu shuld meet with thse wh deliver the interventin t discuss whether the recmmendatins f the reprt can be implemented. Publish the reprt The final step f the evaluatin prcess is publishing yur reprt. Yu can publish yur reprt n several websites, including (yu can publish yur reprt publicly r privately) and Hwever, it is imprtant t nte that yu must agree yur reprt with thse wh have taken part and stakehlders befre publishing yur reprt. If yur evaluatin has revealed that yur interventin is nt having a psitive effect, yu might nt really feel like publishing the reprt. Hwever, it is imprtant that yu d because it culd help ther rad safety practitiners t avid re-inventing the wheel! Yu shuld als cnsider prviding feedback t thse wh have taken part in the evaluatin, as these peple have given their time and are likely t be interested in the utcme f yur evaluatin. Once yur reprt has been published, yu culd cnsider prmting it in a press release r at a cnference. Summary This handut has cvered: Tips fr writing yur reprt A general structure yu can use t write yur reprt Advice n the review and feedback stage The benefits f publishing yur reprt Cntact details If yu have any further questins abut the evaluatin prcess, please rneedham@rspa.cm 28 Calthrpe Rad, Edgbastn, Birmingham B15 1RP Telephne Registered Charity N: