5 Questions to Help You Test Evidence.

AuthorHentze, Iris

If you haven't yet heard the term "evidence-based policy," you haven't been listening. It was first used in 1992 in medicine and has since spread to other fields, including education, law and public policy. It's now used so often, it's easy to gloss over. But what does it really mean? When your colleagues in the legislature take policy positions, claiming the evidence supports their opinion, here are five questions to ask them.

How is 'evidence' being defined?

1 Often, lawmakers will claim they have evidence to support a policy, but rarely do we stop and ask them to define how exactly they are using the term. In some states, evidence is statutorily defined. Knowing the definition in your state, and clarifying the definition when needed, is important. This will help ensure that everyone is speaking the same language and adhering to the same standards.

Is it causal or correlational?

2 Causal evidence tells us whether a policy produced its intended outcomes. It's the strongest type of evidence you can use to predict a policy's impact on constituents. When used as part of a well-done study, it can even measure the extent to which a change can be attributed to a given policy. Correlational evidence can tell us that there is a relationship between a policy and its outcomes, but not that the policy caused the outcomes. The results may come from other factors or policies. Be sure to look for these differences.

How strong is the evidence?

3 If your colleague's evidence is in fact causal, rather than anecdotal, it's time to dig deeper. The scientific method teaches us that a study's results aren't completely reliable until the experiment has been replicated, producing the same or similar results. Policy-making is no different The more a policy has been replicated and studied, the stronger the...

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