This handbook provides practical guidelines for evaluating water and sanitation related hygiene practices for the purposes of project planning, monitoring or impact assessment. The main focus, therefore, is on the practical concerns of field personnel working in water supply, sanitation, and health / hygiene education projects. It is also designed to make qualitative research skills accessible to practitioners with little or no previous training in social sciences and emphasizes how to gather, review, and interpret qualitative information. The use of a variety of sources and methods is advocated as the best way to obtain complete and reliable information on the issues under study.