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Reporting the Findings “Socorro, I don’t understand what else we could have done to convince the government that we need funding for early childhood services. We talked to the department about the data from our needs assessment, which showed that parents in our community really need these services. I’m beginning to think that our needs assessment was nothing but a waste of time. We shouldn’t have listened to our board!”

hree common errors are made when undertaking needs assessments: (a) not documenting findings, (b) not providing findings in useful formats, and (c) not disseminating findings. Not documenting findings is often

the result when not enough time or resources are allocated to this important phase. Not providing findings in useful formats can be a problem not only for service agencies but also for researchers who are used to writing to academic audiences in technical and theoretical jargon. What good is conducting a needs assessment if the information is kept in desk drawers, collecting lint?

Conducting a needs assessment and undertaking appropriate analyses are meaningless if information is not presented in an appropriate manner. As the vignette above illustrates, to some people “appropriate” dissemination means simply meeting with relevant stakeholders and verbally explaining to them the highlights of the study’s findings. As important as verbal communication is, a well-organized and cogently written document is essential to complement oral presentations. It serves as a useful and effective communication tool, showing the seriousness of the findings and conveying the messages you wish to deliver to stakeholders. The best ways to deliver empirical information, however, require early planning and the allocation of sufficient time and resources to this important task. The suggestions made in this chapter are by no means exhaustive, but they point out common forms of preparing and disseminating information in an organized and practical manner.

Who Needs the Information? Before writing up your findings, ask yourself an important question about who desires the study: Who are the stakeholders—those to whom you wish to convey the findings? Having stakeholders clearly in mind before writing results allows you to consider the type of information that would satisfy each stakeholder. Consider this list of common stakeholders that commonly ask for a needs assessment from human service agencies or are eager to use the information gained from an assessment:

Funders Agency board Agency/organization administrators, including of divisions or departments Public or program/agency users

Usually, one main stakeholder initiates the study, but you must still consider others who may become interested in the results. Typically, the main stakeholder is the funder, whose focus is on establishing the need for services or programs. It is concerned with whether the findings justify the services. When boards and agency administrators initiate needs assessments, however, the focus is less on establishing a need and more on ensuring the availability and delivery of services. In contrast, public or user group concerns typically focus on ensuring access to and effectiveness of services. Any stakeholder can be interested in needs assessments for any or all of these reasons. The point is to understand both who has a vested interest in conducting a needs assessment and what type of information they expect to be derived from one.

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Sadly, the majority of needs assessments are undertaken simply to justify the continuation of agencies, programs, or services to funders. This situation is unfortunate because, regardless of stakeholder information needs, data derived from needs assessments can be fruitfully used to improve existing services and programs and their accessibility to subpopulations in a target area. No matter how successful human service programs are, there is always room for improvement.

The following suggestions are intended to maximize the benefits derived from needs assessments by setting out a guide for documenting and disseminating empirical findings. Documenting needs assessments in written form is important for fully considering the relevance of the findings to the service agency and its benefactors. This chapter describes a single report format useful to a variety of stakeholders, ranging from those who want simple and summarized information to those wanting a fuller presentation of the findings. The report format is made up of the following sections: (a) executive summary, (b) introduction, (c) method or procedures, (d) results, (e) discussion or conclusion, (f) recommendations, (g) references and bibliography, and (h) appendices.

Executive Summary The summary is the most important part of any report, whether it is called the executive summary, summary, abstract, or anything else. You need a short summary of the report that highlights the findings of the needs assessment. Increasingly, stakeholders are requiring executive summaries in documents reporting the results of needs assessments. An executive summary allows readers to quickly become familiar with the major findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the study.

One popular style presents brief summaries of each section in the full report (i.e., introduction, method/procedure, results, discussion/conclusion, and recommendations). The advantage of this format is that the reader can easily find the information from sections that are of particular interest. For some, the interest is only in the results or recommendations; for others, the methods section, which describes the procedures used to conduct the needs assessment, is critical for assessing the validity of the findings. This format satisfies both kinds of readers. It also ensures at least minimal descriptions of each section. One could use subtitles to highlight each report section summarized, or the information could simply follow the same sequence used in the fuller report.

Only significant and important findings should be included in the executive summary. Important findings are those addressing the key questions of the needs assessment. This summary is an effective tool for marketing human service organizations or agencies and for drawing attention to the needs identified by the study.

Executive summaries are almost always attached to the main report, but they can also be bound separately. In the latter case, they are an economical means of disseminating key information without having to send the full report. This option is important for agencies with limited budgets but large distribution lists.

An alternative to the formal executive summary is a simple summary or abstract of the report. These summaries are usually 300–1,000 words long. As with the executive summary, information from each report section is included, but here very briefly. The advantage of this format is its appeal to busy stakeholders who want to become aware of the findings without trudging through a fistful of pages. The disadvantage is that only a limited amount of information can be included, making very comprehensive or complex needs assessments difficult to report.

An executive summary in no way substitutes for a full report. A full report is important for both human service agencies and their constituents. It allows for a complete presentation of the study and its findings. Besides documenting the study in greater detail, a formal report serves as a guide for undertaking future needs assessments. Moreover, the executive summary is typically based on the full report rather than being written first.

Introduction Section The first section of the main report is the introduction. This section presents the reason for conducting a needs assessment along with pertinent background information about the target community and population. Essentially, here the reader should become informed about the agency on whose behalf the needs assessment was conducted and the target community and its relevant characteristics and become convinced of the need for the information in the rest of the report.

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It is appropriate to mention other relevant studies and their findings in the introduction. Commonly included is essential information about the nature of the social problems in question (e.g., substance use, violence), the community, the agency/organization in question and the services being offered, and any known or suspected needs. The introduction should always end with a statement about the purpose of the needs assessment. The end of an introduction might look like this:

The answer to the following questions may help us understand the need for spouse abuse services in the Twin Oaks Apartments.

This statement should be followed by a list of key questions or hypotheses. For example, an agency may include, among other hypotheses, one suggesting that women with a college education are less likely to need services than those with less education. It is important that the methodology outlined in the next section of the report address the key issues or hypotheses mentioned at the end of the introduction.

Method (Procedures) Section The method section is typically divided into four subsections: (a) subjects, (b) instruments, (c) procedures, and (d) statistical analysis. Each subsection can be set off with a title but does not have to be.

Subjects The first subsection should clarify the description of the subjects. Such information includes the number of

subjects recruited, the method of recruiting (mentioning incentives or services provided), the attrition rate and the reasons subjects gave for not participating, and the information given to participants about participation and the nature of the study (including an informed consent form and information about potential risks). All of these topics need to be briefly and cogently discussed. A clear description of the target population and geographic boundaries is also presented here.

Instruments A description of the data collection instrument is included in the instrument subsection. Often the entire data

collection instrument is included in the report’s appendix for reference. This subsection provides a justification for the choice of the type of instrument and describes how the instrument was designed and by whom. It is important to mention any standardized or previously used scales or questions included in the instrument. It is often helpful both to describe the types of questions asked (open-ended, structured, etc.) and to include a few representative examples.

Procedures This subsection offers a general description of the methods used to collect the data. Sometimes only a

procedure section is written, without a more general method section, because the procedure section reveals how the study was conducted. For example, if interviews were conducted, this section would concisely describe how the respondents were approached, how long the researchers were in contact with subjects, and follow-up plans. The procedure section provides enough information about how the data were collected so that anyone could use the information provided to replicate the study.

Statistical Analysis The method section should briefly discuss the type of analysis planned and the statistical methods used. For

example, a report could state something as simple as “The frequency distributions for each item in the questionnaire were generated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version x.” The specific statistical analyses used to test any hypothesis proposed in the introduction should be mentioned. If the

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study is qualitative, there is no need to mention statistical analyses, but the report should state how the results will be reported (e.g., as case studies).

Note that it is vital to consider the type of statistical analyses to use before collecting data. Often, by planning the statistical analysis beforehand, the researcher can see whether the types of questions used and their response choices will lead to the results sought. The researcher often gets caught up in the mechanics of developing questions and putting the questionnaire together, forgetting to ensure that the items developed will generate relevant information. Once the data are collected, the questions and their associated response choices will dictate the type of information available to answer the key questions of the study.

Results Section The results of the study are explained in this section, which can be difficult to write if more analyses were conducted than originally planned. This problem arises when those conducting a needs assessment get lost in the abundance of collected data and the many seemingly important new questions that the data address. As tempting as it may be to explore new issues, one must maintain the focus on the original purpose of the study so that results are meaningful to stakeholders.

The questions thought important at the start of the study should be used as guides for reporting the results of the needs assessment. This procedure does not preclude addressing other questions beyond those originally conceived. However, they should be clearly identified as additional questions. Questions pertinent to the study should be grouped by subject matter to make them easier to report and read. For example, information from demographic questions can be reported in a subsection titled “Sample Profile” or “Sample Description.” The first set of results to report are those that describe the sample demographically. This information will be used to determine the sample’s representativeness of the target population.

The writer should avoid interpreting the findings in the results section. Speculation about the reasons for certain results should be left to the discussion section. Here the writer should simply report the findings as objectively as possible.

Discussion Section In the discussion section, the writer has liberty to take meaning from the results of the study. This section begins by reminding the reader of the purpose of the study, then alerts the reader to any weaknesses or limitations of the study that may have been responsible for the findings, and finally allows the writer to make general statements about the findings.

The discussion section should begin by briefly reminding the reader of the importance of and need for the needs assessment. This reminder is commonly followed by a discussion of any weaknesses of the study that could have influenced the results (although researchers sometimes leave this for the end of the section). An example of a possible bias in a study would be the use of a convenience sample. This is particularly important to mention if the sample was distinct in some way (e.g., comprised mainly of women). The listing of potential biases should be followed by the writer’s view of the likelihood that the biases were responsible for the results.

Following a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the data is a summary of the most important and salient findings related to the key questions guiding the study. This summary should not restate the results section but rather highlight the dominant findings and discuss their meaning. This is an appropriate time to mention any subjective and educative reactions of the researcher to the results. In essence, this section helps the reader understand the overall significance of the findings.

If the report has no separate conclusion section, conclusions of the study need to be stated at the end of the discussion section. The end of any report should include a recap that helps the reader understand the bottom line: What did the study say about the needs of interest to the organization or agency? Was there evidence of a need for information, products, or services?

Conclusion and Recommendation Sections As mentioned above, writing a conclusion section is optional; however, presenting conclusions in some way needs to be a part of any report. The conclusion helps the reader make sense of the study and its findings.

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Another section, which can be incorporated into the discussion section or the conclusion section or be a final independent section, is the recommendation section. Recommendations translate the findings and conclusions into decision making and positive change. Recommendations help those in decision-making positions (e.g., agency/organization directors or policy makers) to make informed decisions based on empirical data. Recommendations can mention the need to conduct ongoing needs assessments as well as the need for funds for services or policy changes. The recommendation section is another statement of the study’s bottom line. It addresses the question “What should be done with the information generated?”

References and Appendices References or recommended reading material come next, followed by appendices. Some agencies or organizations prefer to issue a thin report, so they rely on the appendix sections to contain detailed information that may not be included in the internal distribution of the report. Appendices may include large portions of the method section as well as a detailed explanation of the statistical analyses conducted. The data collection instrument can also be appropriately placed in an appendix. Finally, copies of newspaper articles or other relevant printed information can be included in an appendix.

A table of contents is recommended to help the reader find the sections of the report, including the contents of the appendices.

Exercises

Philip is the director of a youth diversion program, which is part of an independent, not-for-profit, community-based program. Several changes of the program have been informally recommended by the youth whom it serves. Teachers in local schools have been asking Philip to focus on conflict resolution skills through sports activities. Equal proportions of the program’s funds come from the YMCA, the city, annual community fundraisers, and the Department of Justice. Public criticism of night basketball and other diversion programs, plus increased competition for funding, has led Philip to conduct a needs assessment.

Answer the following questions:

1. What are possible reasons for Philip’s interest in a needs assessment? 2. Who are all the stakeholders? 3. Rank the stakeholders in order of importance. 4. Briefly state what type of information goes in each of the report sections listed below. 5. Put these report sections in their appropriate order without referring to the chapter.

Order (number) Information Contained ___ Method or Procedures ___ Discussion or Conclusion ___ Recommendations ___ Introduction ___ References and Bibliography ___ Executive Summary ___ Appendices ___ Results