Reporting requirements and preferences
Kea (Nestor notabilis). Image - John Hunt
The form, style and content of reporting should be customised according to the audience; that is, no one approach suits all stakeholders.
The focus group discussions about reporting on birds ranged across a number of topics , focusing on the information and communication requirements of the different people and organisations involved.
User preferences
The information and communication requirements of different groups were differentiated by:
- The need (or not) to have access to the data on which the reports are based.
- The geographical scale and species coverage.
- The form and style of presentation.
- The preferred delivery ‘platform’.
Reporting form and style
Various suggestions were provided about the form and style of reporting including:
- For the public and ‘citizen scientists’/volunteer, magazine-style summaries, newspaper features, brochures, or short reports should be used to present the results. These should focus on visual presentation of key findings, and avoid using complicated graphs, tables, and technical explanations;
- More use of websites that present findings that make use of the technology, such as animated maps, video clips, illustrations etc;
- Make better use of, and help improve, established information distribution networks, e.g. Nature watch, Birds NZ;
- Among Maori communities, face-to-face discussions and information sharing sessions are generally preferable to written technical reports;
- The design of reports and reporting platforms should be undertaken in consultation with Statistics New Zealand who have considerable experience in this area.