The Evidence Base: Where is It?(Essay‪)‬

In criminal justice, as in many other areas of public administration, politicians and managers increasingly call for evidence-based policy (EBP). This should raise questions about what evidence, who will find it and how will it be used. The rising emphasis on bibliometrics as the way to measure importance and impact is another development that should raise questions about what is being measured and how it will be used. The academic research publication model does not fit all aspects of criminology very well, where much work is done by or for government and non-government organisations, and much is multidisciplinary. This grey literature has always presented problems in meeting standards for peer-reviewed, evidence-based evaluation, but is often all there is--if it can be found. Funding agencies may have stringent requirements for evaluation studies, but how are these reports written or structured and what happens to them? How can they be used to inform subsequent practice? EVIDENCE AND BIBLIOMETRICS: SIMPLE SOLUTIONS