Relevant evidence

What outcomes matter to you?

Always ask yourself whether the outcomes measured in evidence sources matter to you and/or to your environmental goals.

A primary study or systematic review may not include all outcomes that are relevant to the issue of concern. Managers, stakeholders and researchers may have different views about which outcomes are important. For example, studies often measure outcomes, such as abundance of a single taxon, as surrogates for important outcomes, like biodiversity. However, the surrogate outcomes often do not provide a reliable indication of the effects on all outcomes that are important.

REMEMBER: Always consider the possibility that outcomes that are important to you may not have been addressed in a primary study or systematic reviews. Do not be misled by surrogate outcomes.