What is a fact sheet? Why would you make a fact sheet? Who can you reach with fact sheets? How do you make a fact sheet? Getting accurate information out to the public about community health and other important issues can be done in a number of ways. One of the simplest things you can do is create a fact sheet about the issues you're working on and distribute it to the people who need the information. What is a fact sheet? A fact sheet is a concise print or digital resource that presents important facts about a specific issue. Fact sheets can be laid out in many different ways as long as they make the main information easy to find and understand. You can create one fact sheet with basic information, or a series of fact sheets addressing different parts of an issue. Why would you make a fact sheet? Fact sheets are relatively easy to make and easy to use. There's no need to come up with a catchy slogan, unless one is useful, or write a lengthy essay arguing your case. With a fact sheet, you can focus on the most important evidence, explain what it means, and make it easy for readers to find additional information or take an appropriate next step. Fact sheets can often be produced fairly quickly. A straightforward fact sheet may be developed much faster than a more elaborate communication product such as a video, public service announcement, or major promotional campaign. However, don't let speed replace accuracy. Build in enough time to verify the information and review the final material. Fact sheets can also be inexpensive. Digital fact sheets can be distributed through email, websites, social media, QR codes, or partner organizations at relatively little cost. Printed versions may involve printing, mailing, and staff or volunteer time, but they can still be a cost-effective way to share information. Who can you reach with fact sheets? Fact sheets can be distributed to the general public or developed for a more specific intended audience. They can be handed out at community events, public meetings, meetings of governing bodies such as city commissions, workshops, conferences, clinics, schools, or other places where the people you hope to reach gather. Digital versions can also be shared through websites, email, newsletters, social media, and other communication channels. You can develop fact sheets for audiences such as: Civic organizations Business groups Grassroots and community organizations School boards Labor organizations Parent, family, and school groups Faith communities and organizations Journalists and other media professionals, including editors and reporters who cover your issue or initiative Health organizations Elected and appointed government officials, agencies, or governing bodies Grantmakers and other potential funders How do you make a fact sheet? Think about what message you want the facts to convey. Do you want to help people understand a complicated issue? Correct misinformation? Provide reliable facts for community members, journalists, funders, or a government agency? Encourage an informed action? Think about the purpose of the fact sheet and what readers should understand or be able to do after reading it. If you're trying to build support for a public art project, for example, you might look for credible evidence about how public art affects community life, economic activity, neighborhood identity, or other outcomes relevant to your proposal. Think about the audience for your fact sheet. Ask yourself these questions: Who will you be giving or sending this fact sheet to? What information is most relevant and useful to this audience? What do you want readers to understand, consider, or do after reading it? Different audiences may need different types or levels of information. Policymakers may need concise data about scope, cost, outcomes, and policy implications. Community members may want to know how the issue affects their daily lives and what resources or actions are available. Journalists may need both reliable data and examples that help explain the issue. Learn what the intended audience actually needs rather than assuming that everyone within a particular profession or group responds to information in the same way. Find your facts. Perhaps you already have a great deal of factual information and just need to sort through it to decide what to include. Maybe another coalition, government agency, research institution, or national organization has provided information that you need to evaluate for relevance to your community. If you don't have your facts gathered already, you'll need to do some research. These are some possible sources: Original research reports, systematic reviews, and peer-reviewed publications Reputable newspapers, magazines, and other journalism, especially when they link to or identify the original evidence Published reports, minutes, proceedings, or papers from meetings and conferences Reports and publications from other community organizations National, state, and local organizations, research institutes, and professional associations Online searches that help you locate original reports, datasets, official websites, and research sources Government agencies, public datasets, administrative records, and other official sources Verify, verify, verify! This is extremely important. Check facts for accuracy, relevance, context, and timeliness. Use credible sources, trace claims back to their original source when possible, and make sure the evidence actually supports the statement you want to make. Making sure the fact comes from a reputable source: Don't use a factual claim simply because it appears online or has been repeated by several people. Find out where the information originated, who produced it, what methods were used, and whether knowledgeable independent sources consider the evidence credible. Consider possible conflicts of interest, but don't assume that affiliation alone proves that information is wrong. When possible, compare the claim with another credible source or with the original research or public data. The importance of using a reputable source Using a source whose methods or credibility have been seriously challenged: During a debate over changes to a local human rights code, opponents of protections based on sexual orientation cited statistics from researcher Paul Cameron. Cameron's work had been challenged by major professional organizations, and he had been dropped from membership in the American Psychological Association for violation of its ethical principles. The larger lesson is that a statistic should not be accepted simply because it appears to support your position. Examine the methods, professional standing, and broader evidence before relying on it. Using stronger evidence: In another example, advocates evaluating a firearm-safety ordinance cited a study that compared outcomes during defined periods before and after the ordinance. Because the analysis used clearly described data and methods, readers could examine the evidence rather than relying only on the advocates' interpretation. Whatever the issue, the strongest sources are those whose methods, data, limitations, and conclusions can be evaluated. Making sure the fact is up-to-date: A figure may once have been accurate but no longer describe current conditions. Check the publication date, the period covered by the data, and whether a newer reliable source is available. In some cases, older data are useful for showing historical trends, but make that purpose clear rather than presenting them as current. Narrow it down. Go through all the factual information you've gathered and decide what is most important, relevant, and useful to readers. Then decide which facts you're going to include. The facts you use should match the issue and population your fact sheet actually addresses. Let's say you work with an after-school college-preparation program for high school students from families with lower incomes. Your program doesn't serve students on the basis of race; eligibility is based on income. You might find statistics about college completion among a particular racial or ethnic group, but those figures would not necessarily describe the population your program is designed around. You would be better served by data about educational access or college outcomes associated with income if that is the central issue your program addresses. Use demographic information when it is actually relevant, and avoid treating race, ethnicity, income, or other characteristics as interchangeable explanations. Decide how you want to lay your fact sheet out. Just the facts! Fact sheets aren't meant to be lengthy reports. A single page may be ideal for many purposes, but the appropriate length depends on the topic, audience, and format. Whether the fact sheet is printed or digital, make it easy to scan. Use clear headings, bullets, white space, readable text, and graphics only when they help explain the information. For digital fact sheets, also consider accessible headings, meaningful link text, sufficient color contrast, alternative text for important images, and a format that works on common screen sizes. Find a simple way of presenting your information. You might use a "who, what, when, where, why" layout, a bulleted list, frequently asked questions, a short table, or another structure appropriate to the topic. Put the most important information first and make any recommended action easy to find. Cite your sources. Your fact sheet will be more credible and useful if readers can tell where the information came from and, when practical, find the source themselves. Include enough information to identify the source, and use links or references when the fact sheet is digital. Ways to cite sources Using footnotes: A factual statement appears here with a numbered source reference (1). (1) Source: Agency or publication name, report title, and date when appropriate Using parentheses: A factual statement appears here (Agency or publication name, year). Including the source in the wording of the fact: According to [agency or publication], [fact or finding]. Explain what the facts mean. Some facts are easy to understand on their own. Others need context. If you include a statistic that may not be immediately meaningful, take a sentence or two to explain what it measures, who is included, when the data were collected, and why it matters to the issue. Comparisons can help, but make sure they are genuinely comparable and don't exaggerate the significance of the finding. Things to avoid: Don't make numbers harder than they need to be: Percentages, fractions, rates, and raw numbers can each be useful depending on the context. Choose the form that makes the information easiest to understand without losing important precision. For example, 66% can sometimes be explained as "about two-thirds," while other situations may require the exact percentage and the number of people it represents. Don't stretch the truth: Exaggerating makes you look dishonest and can mislead readers. If you round a figure, summarize a range, or simplify a complex finding, do so accurately and don't make the evidence sound stronger than it is. Don't rely on weak surveys or polls: Evaluate how respondents were selected, who was included or excluded, how questions were written, the sample size, weighting or adjustment methods, and whether the sample can reasonably represent the population being described. An online survey is not automatically unreliable, and a survey conducted by another method is not automatically representative. Self-selected or convenience polls should not be presented as though they represent an entire population without appropriate evidence. Don't be unnecessarily repetitive: Repetition can emphasize a central point, but a long list of nearly identical statistics may make the main message harder to see. A chart, trend, average, or carefully chosen comparison may communicate the pattern more clearly. Don't inundate the reader with too many facts: Select the facts that are most relevant to the purpose of the fact sheet. If the issue requires substantially more information, consider creating a series of fact sheets or linking to a longer report, webpage, or resource where readers can learn more. In Summary Fact sheets can be an easy and important way of getting accurate information out to the public quickly and efficiently. There's no single way to make a fact sheet. Choose a format that fits your topic and intended audience, focus on a clear main message, verify and cite your evidence, explain important numbers and context, make the information accessible and easy to scan, and give readers a clear way to learn more or take action when appropriate. Contributor Chris Hampton Resources Print Resource Brigham, N., with Catalifo, M., & Cluster, D. (1991). How to do leaflets, newsletters, and newspapers. Detroit, MI: PEP Publishers.
