Behavioural public policy interventions have been implemented across the world, targeting citizens, professionals, politicians and policymakers. This chapter examines poor quality reporting of interventions and methods in some behavioural public policy research. We undertake a review of existing reporting standards to assess their suitability for the behavioural public policy context. Our findings reveal that the adoption of standards can improve the reliability and reproducibility of research; provide a more robust evidence base from which to generalise findings; and convince sceptics of the value of behavioural public policy research. We conclude that use of the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist and the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy (BCTTv1) would add rigour to intervention reporting. We argue there is a need for a combined tool to guide the design and reporting of randomised controlled trials, incorporating elements from the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist and other sources.
This book features theoretical, methodological, and empirical advancements of the state-of-the-art in behavioural public policy and administration. In recent years, a wave of reforms known as ‘nudges’, or ‘behavioural public policy agenda’, have emerged. ‘Nudge’ policies are created to lightly influence groups in society to change their behaviour, using behavioural insights to solve complex policy problems. First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics journal, this book situates these reforms within a broader tradition of methodological individualism. With contributions from a range of international scholars, it demonstrates that when behavioural policies expand their focus beyond the individual, they have the potential to better understand, investigate and shape social outcomes.In recent years, a wave of reforms known as ‘nudges’ or ‘behavioural interventions’ have emerged in public policy and administration. ‘Nudge’ policies are created to lightly influence groups in society to change their behaviour, using behavioural insights to solve complex policy problems. Generally, behavioural approaches focus on the psychology underlying the implementation and effects of policies in practice.First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics journal, this book situates these reforms within a broader tradition of methodological individualism.With contributions from international scholars, it demonstrates that when behavioural policies expand their focus beyond the individual, they have the potential to better understand, investigate and shape social outcomes.First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics journal, this book situates reforms known as ‘nudges’ or ‘behavioural interventions’ which have emerged in public policy and administration within a broader tradition of methodological individualism.