Proposing, Reporting, and Refereeing Evaluation Studies; Study Ethics

This final chapter addresses a set of issues focusing on communication. These are the often “hidden” but important considerations that can determine if a study receives the resources that make its conduct possible, if a study in progress encounters procedural difficulties, and if a completed study leads to improvement or adoption of an information resource. Whether a study is funded depends on how well the plan for the study is represented in a proposal; whether a study encounters procedural difficulties depends on the investigator’s adherence to general ethical standards as well as more specific stipulations built into an evaluation contract; whether a study leads to improvement or adoption of a resource depends on how well the study findings are represented in various reports.