Find an Overview Report
Instead of diving right into the article literature, try seeing if there's an overview report available.
To start, check out these resources:
- Congressional Research Reports Collection at UNTThe U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) is where Members of Congress turn for confidential, nonpartisan research and analysis on a range of issues. A number of libraries and non-profit organizations have sought to collect as many of the released reports as possible. UNT's collection is a centralized utility that brings together these collections to search.
- Office of Inspector General -- USAIDThis is the site for USAID's Office of Inspector General. See the audit reports in particular.
(In the US, there are 73 federal offices of inspectors general. For more info, see the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Inspector_general#United_States) - U.S. GAO Evaluation Report RepositoryReports and testimonies from the US Government Accountability Office, organized by week
- World Bank Open Knowledge RepositoryLinks to publications from the World Bank on a variety of issues
Searching for Evaluation Reports
There is no single solution to finding individual evaluation reports or evaluation syntheses. They can be found in the scholarly literature, in databases of systematic reviews, on the websites of organizations, and in general on the web.
The resources below will help you get started, especially the Clearinghouses and Evidence Reviews for Social Benefit Programs (which provide even more resources).
When searching for evaluation resources reports, keep in mind that the following keywords can be useful:
- Evaluation report
- Evaluation toolkit
- Clearinghouse
- Evidence-based policy
- "What works"
Also, when working in databases, it can be helpful to look for evaluation report subject headings or filters for literature types.
National and International Evaluation Resources
- U.S. General Accountability OfficeThe U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.
- Centers for Disease Control Program Performance & Evaluation Office, ResourcesCDC's compilation of program evaluation resources, including 1) step-by-step manuals; 2) logic models 3) data collection methods & sources 4) evaluation of specific types of programs 5) websites w/ comprehensive evaluation resources 6) key professional associations 7) key journals.
- USAID EvaluationsIncludes guidance on preparing evaluation reports, evaluation statements of work, conducting mixed-method evaluations, and impact evaluations; also includes a searchable clearinghouse of evaluation reports. See also: http://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data.
- World Bank Independent Evaluation Group"The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is charged with evaluating the activities of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (the World Bank), the work of International Finance Corporation (IFC) in private sector development, and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's (MIGA) guarantee projects and services. The Director-General of IEG reports directly to the World Bank Group's Board of Directors. The goals of evaluation are to provide an objective assessment of the results of the Bank Group’s work and to identify and disseminate lessons learned from experience."
- Better EvaluationAn international collaboration to improve evaluation practice and theory by sharing information about options (methods or tools) and approaches.
- CONSORT -- Consolidated Standards of Reporting TrialsCONSORT, which stands for Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials, encompasses various initiatives developed by the CONSORT Group to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The main product of CONSORT is the CONSORT Statement, which is an evidence-based, minimum set of recommendations for reporting RCTs. It offers a standard way for authors to prepare reports of trial findings, facilitating their complete and transparent reporting, and aiding their critical appraisal and interpretation.
- What Works Clearinghouse"We review the research on the different programs, products, practices, and policies in education. Then, by focusing on the results from high-quality research, we try to answer the question “What works in education?” Our goal is to provide educators with the information they need to make evidence-based decisions."
- Clearinghouses and Evidence Reviews for Social Benefit ProgramsThe Corporation for National and Community Service produces this directory to clearinghouses and evidence reviews of program in areas such as youth development, education, economic opportunity, health, criminal justice, and more
- Campbell Collaboration Evidence LibrariesList of evidence libraries/resources for systematic reviews and evaluation reports for Campbell reviewers