Author Archives: hlanthorn

Doing research? Spend more time with program staff…

Originally posted on Suvojit Chattopadhyay:
From Duncan’s blog covering the paper ‘Using Participatory Process Evaluation to Understand the Dynamics of Change in a Nutrition Education Programme’, by Andrea Cornwall While it is always interesting to hear about interesting approaches to data collection and analysis – and a lot of this feeds into thoughts/reactions I had while…

Small thoughts on transparency in research (descriptions of methods, analysis)

There is currently a good deal of attention on transparency of social science research – as there should be. Much of this is focused on keeping the analysis honest, including pre-analysis plans (e.g.) and opening up data for re-analysis (internal replication, e.g. here and here). Some of this will hopefully receive good discussion at anContinueContinue reading “Small thoughts on transparency in research (descriptions of methods, analysis)”

To Get More Out of Science, Show the Rejected Research

Originally posted on Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences:
CARL WIENS In a recent opinion piece on the New York Times news portal the Upshot, Brendan Nyhan, an assistant professor of government at Dartmouth College, comments on a host of transparency related issues. Closely echoing the mission of BITSS, Nyhan identifies the potential of…

Sherlock Holmes and the Princess Bride

When I need to decompress, zone out, and fall asleep, I have a tendency to watch familiar, I-can-recite-by-heart movies or TV shows to help. Just enough distraction to close down my other thoughts, not gripping enough to keep me awake. The ‘Sherlock’ TV series has joined these ranks. The more I watch ‘A study inContinueContinue reading “Sherlock Holmes and the Princess Bride”

Theories of change, stakeholders, imagined beneficiaries, & stealing from product design. That is, meet ‘Mary.’

This post is also available, lightly edited, here. I have been thinking a lot about ‘theories of change’ this week (just did some presenting on them here!). Actually, I have been thinking more about ‘conceptual models,’ which was the term by which I was first introduced to the general idea (via Vic Strecher in ConceptualContinueContinue reading “Theories of change, stakeholders, imagined beneficiaries, & stealing from product design. That is, meet ‘Mary.’”

Ebola and public health ethics (ebolaethics?)

Via Reuters, KFF recently posted a short article about the ethics of giving experimental treatment to the ‘hero doctor’ Sheik Umar Khan — and, really, to any of the trained health professionals who continue to show up to work even though they were at very real risk in Sierra Leone, in Liberia, in Nigeria andContinueContinue reading “Ebola and public health ethics (ebolaethics?)”

Nimboo pani: challenges and triumphs

There has been some complaint from some quarters that I have not recently provided any update about my life, reserving blog posts for slightly more wonky topics. This post will be a small antidote.* In Delhi, one way of dealing with the energy-sapping heat is nimboo pani — literally “lemons water” but in actuality lemonadeContinueContinue reading “Nimboo pani: challenges and triumphs”

Some posts… no shit

Some posts maybe you are never ready to write. Nevertheless, the news of Marc Roberts’s death over the weekend seems to warrant both an immediate response and the response that is just right. He seemed to usually be able to manage these simultaneously but, given the sense of time that follows a completion of a lifeContinueContinue reading “Some posts… no shit”

Data systems strengthening

I have been saying for some time that my next moves will be into monitoring and vital registration (more specifically, a “poor Richard” start-up to help countries to measure the certainties of life: (birth), death, and taxes. (If village pastors could get it done with ink and scroll in the 16th c across northern Europe,ContinueContinue reading “Data systems strengthening”