Dissemination

Dissemination is the final part of the research and evaluation process, and is equally important for practitioners reporting on the findings of their research to their funders or a wider group, for example, colleagues, research students submitting their work for assessment to academic boards, or anyone that has to orally present often complex findings in front of an audience. The three key elements in dissemination are: content (what to disseminate); audience (who to disseminate to) and delivery (how to disseminate) Any kind of research or evaluation dissemination needs to combine each these aspects to be successful.

The importance of structure, precision, clarity and objectivity of content will be emphasised throughout. The chapter will emphasise that the choice of dissemination form should be determined by its intended audience, that is, the needs of client/funding organisation and any collaborators, the context of the study, and likely readership or group being reported to. This chapter consists of three sections covering different forms of dissemination: written reports; oral presentations; and representations of research in the media.

By the end of this chapter readers should be able to: • understand the kind of report(s) that are most suited to their circumstances • understand the importance of structure and precision • understand basic precepts of research reporting, that is, table layouts, references and the use of appendices • understand the need to negotiate dissemination proposals with research funding bodies or sponsors • understand the different types of audience that your research findings may be of interest to • write short web-page or newsletter-length summaries of the findings • understand the different timescales and agendas of the media