Government Social Research
If social science research output is not accessible, it will not be used. It must be easy to draw out relevant information, key findings and messages. The limitations of evidence must be made clear, but caveats must not drown out key messages. As well as maximising use, communicating findings in as clear a manner as possible will also guard against their misinterpretation. Key audiences that should be considered include Ministers, Officials, parliament, policy delivery agents, the wider research community, and the general public.
Social science research output should reflect the needs and constraints of the user, be written in clear, consise and jargon free lanugage and set within existing work in the field, and knowledge of the broad policy area, so that the sum of knowledge and new evidence’s contribution to that knowledge can be easily understood.
There is a presumption that the products of Government social science research will be published.