The 4 differences between certificate, report and opinion

Bureaucracy is something that for a relatively large proportion of the population is more of a headache. But although it is little appreciated, the truth is that it is often necessary to guarantee a proper functioning of the system and the monitoring of a process with the maximum possible guarantees.

Within this scope we often find various types of documents, which can sometimes be confused with each other. Among them can be found some that are not only applied at the administrative level, but also in areas such as academics.

For example, many people have ever had to make a report, or have had to wait for confirm an opinion or receive a certificate in order to be able to exercise or obtain a certain service or good. But what is the difference between these types of documents? What are they and what are the differences between certificate, report and opinion? Let's see it throughout this article.

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Certificate, report and opinion: what are they?

Before starting to talk about the differences between certificate, report and opinion, it may be coherent and necessary to make a brief description or explanation of what each one of them is.

Receives the name of a certificate to a type of document which is issued with the purpose of attesting or recording a specific fact, in a merely descriptive manner. In order for it to be valid, it must have been carried out and signed by a technician or a competent authority in the aspect of which it is recorded.

A typical example of this type of document can be found in the study certificates or in the certificate of habitability of the houses.

The report is probably the most frequently produced type of document., since it is often the basis from which some course of action can be taken.

It is a type of document that is characterized by exposing in more or less detail the event or elements that are observed. and the circumstances that surround them in an objective and empirically focused way, without admitting any type of interpretation. An example can be found in the reports that are made when there is some type of traffic accident, regarding both the accident and the state of the vehicles and people.

With regard to the opinion, we are dealing with a type of document in which, based on the data that surrounds a situation (generally from a report), the situation itself is evaluated and analyzed in order to make some kind of determination about it, guide some intervention or action or simply reach a conclusion regarding what has happened. In this case, the opinion or evaluation of the professional who carries it out comes into play, which should be expert personnel in the subject to be evaluated.

As an example we can find cases of opinions in any judicial process in which a sentence is reached, or either in the selection of a certain treatment for a patient in the hospital context or psychological/psychiatric.

As can be seen, the three concepts explained so far coincide in the fact that these are very useful documents and that often used together.

In addition, all of them can be applied to a large number of fields, from education or academics (is a person suitable/not suitable?), construction (is this house habitable?), medicine or psychology (what's wrong with it?, do the symptoms correspond to X disorder?, what type of intervention should be applied?) to the administrative ones (permits, regulations, requests…). But, as can already be seen in the definitions themselves, they are not identical.

Differences between these document types

Opinion, report and certificate are documents that basically have certain similarities and that are usually closely related. However, they are far from being the same type of document and Each of them has characteristics that distinguish it from the others.. In this sense, below we highlight the four main differences between certificate, report and opinion.

1. objective pursued

Perhaps the main and most important difference between opinion, certificate and report is found in the fact that these three types of documents are carried out for different purposes and objectives.

In this sense, a report is made with the purpose of exposing and explaining a specific situation or aspect of reality, without pretending to include indications or assessments in it (although the objective of its realization may actually be to end up doing this).

The opinion is prepared when the existing information on a particular issue or situation must be assessed, with the in order to provide some guideline for action, recommendation or solution regarding the situation itself or regarding how proceed.

Finally, the certificate is a document that is issued solely as a verification of the result of an assessment carried out previously, reporting and communicating the conclusion or decision that is determined in this regard.

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2. explain vs value

Another major difference between certificate, report and opinion can be found in the type of text and the work and treatment given to the information they provide.

While a report is an expository text in which the information provided is objective and does not contain any interpretation or subjectivity, the opinion includes, in addition to the explanation of the situation, an assessment and decision component about what to do with that information.

In this way, the opinion incorporates a certain subjectivity to the content, since the data is interpreted to generate a conclusion.

Finally, with regard to the certificate, although its content refers to the final conclusion that has been obtained through a process of analysis with the possibility that biases and subjectivities exist or not, we are dealing with a document whose content is limited to describing the conclusion or result in Yeah. Thus, the certificate does not imply an act of valuation but rather is the reflection of the valuation carried out previously.

3. Order

In addition to the above differences, it should also be noted that generally these documents They are usually interrelated, and the previous one is usually needed to be able to elaborate the next one..

In this sense, the first of the documents that will be necessary will be the report in order to be able to explore what has happened or what is being worked on, obtaining data objectively and detailed. Only then will it be possible to carry out the assessment that allows the creation of the opinion, which will use said data to analyze and interpret the information and finally make a decision about it.

And it will be based on this opinion that will be used to prepare a certificate that attests or records the decision made regarding what is being analyzed.

4. Attention to detail and conciseness

A last but not least important differentiating element between the three types of documents cited is, beyond their objectivity/subjectivity or what each of them pursues, it is the level of detail and accuracy of the data it includes.

While the certificate is generally a concise and precise document but pays little attention to the detail and offers little information regarding what situation is valued and the circumstances surrounding it, the opinion it is much more explicit and detailed but nevertheless it is less concise and closed than the previous one, since it gives an account of the assessment made with respect to the data obtained from the report.

Finally, the report is, together with the opinion, the one that provides the greatest level of detail regarding the situation that exposes and narrates, but since it focuses on the mere explanation it does not lead to a conclusion, being more open.

Bibliographic references:

• Lannon, J. (2007). Technical Communication. Longman.
• Royal Spanish Academy. (2018). Spanish dictionary.