What does the Magenta Book provide guidance on?
The Magenta Book provides guidance on:
- how to refine a policy question to get a useful answer
- the main evaluation methods that are used to answer policy questions
- the strengths and weakneses of different methods of evaluation
- the broad range of methods used in policy evaluation, and the approaches of different disciplines including social policy, sociology, economics, statistics, operational research.
- the difficulties that arise in using different methods of evaluation, and the benefits that are to be gained
- examples of evaluations that have used the available methods appropriately and effectively, and it highlights what is good about them
- how to use summative and formative, quantitative and qualitative, experimental and experiential methods of policy evaluation appropriately and effectively.
- where to go to find out more detailed information about policy evaluation and analysis
