When reporting findings to non-technical stakeholders, which practice helps ensure transparency about study limitations?

When reporting findings to non-technical stakeholders, which practice helps ensure transparency about study limitations?

• A. Plain Language Summaries
• B. Excluding Limitations
• C. Acknowledging Limitations and Generalizability
• D. Visuals

Answer: (C)

Transparency about study limitations and generalizability is essential when reporting findings to non-technical stakeholders. By clearly acknowledging what the study can and cannot claim—such as sample representativeness, potential biases, measurement constraints, and how findings may or may not apply to other settings—you give decision-makers an accurate sense of the evidence base and its boundaries. This helps avoid overgeneralizing results and supports informed decisions. Plain Language Summaries help accessibility but don’t replace a candid discussion of limitations; excluding limitations undermines transparency; visuals can aid understanding but may still miss explicit acknowledgment of where the study falls short. Explicitly acknowledging limitations and generalizability is the strongest practice to promote transparency.

Transparency about study limitations and generalizability is essential when reporting findings to non-technical stakeholders. By clearly acknowledging what the study can and cannot claim—such as sample representativeness, potential biases, measurement constraints, and how findings may or may not apply to other settings—you give decision-makers an accurate sense of the evidence base and its boundaries. This helps avoid overgeneralizing results and supports informed decisions. Plain Language Summaries help accessibility but don’t replace a candid discussion of limitations; excluding limitations undermines transparency; visuals can aid understanding but may still miss explicit acknowledgment of where the study falls short. Explicitly acknowledging limitations and generalizability is the strongest practice to promote transparency.