I wrote this post for the IDinsight’s internal blog but I decided to share it here to encourage contributions. It will be great for people will weigh in with tactics they have tried! Please share in the comments your experiences with courtesy bias and the tactics you have used (seemingly successful and unsuccessful) — includingContinueContinue reading “Addressing courtesy bias”
Category Archives: Research
Daily(ish) debriefs during qualitative work
I miss being conducting interviews and data collection myself. One does get priced out of doing the things one likes! One way that I remain connected to the research is by conducting frequent debriefs during the data collection (and early analysis phase). Debriefing isn’t just self-serving; it improves the quality of qualitative data collected andContinueContinue reading “Daily(ish) debriefs during qualitative work”
Checking-in during “field” work
It is not easy to transition from ‘researcher doing-the-data-collection‘ to supervisor of this sort of work, sending someone else to do the work. Especially, when that is part of the reasons you got into the business in the first place–perhaps especially for qual researchers (?). . Even though I check-in by phone at least onceContinueContinue reading “Checking-in during “field” work”
Inverted quarantines, mosquitoes & the common man in Delhi
This post has been some time in the making, ever since Raul Pacheco-Vega introduced me to Andrew Szasz’s concept of an ‘inverted quarantine,’ defined further below, and fabulous Manpreet Singh and I started kicking around how the idea applied to our lives in Delhi. This week, a few events, including a desperate effort to stayContinueContinue reading “Inverted quarantines, mosquitoes & the common man in Delhi”
Doctor marketplace & lack of system improvement (Delhi summer illness 4)
One of the first things you learn when studying health systems is how imperfect health care markets are — limited time or ability to shop around, massive information asymmetries, etc. It is interesting, then, how very marketplace-like my experience was during my most recent illness episode. It is even more interesting, I think, that thisContinueContinue reading “Doctor marketplace & lack of system improvement (Delhi summer illness 4)”
Going viral in Delhi / is diagnosis a luxury (Delhi summer illness 2)
In this post, I continue to try to make research and observational hay out of my own illness in Delhi (starting here). As a quick re-cap, there was a week of severe, arthritic joint pain and weakness, which started to let up slightly right when the rash and fever kicked in. Those were mercifully short-lived,ContinueContinue reading “Going viral in Delhi / is diagnosis a luxury (Delhi summer illness 2)”
I feel like an #oddeven party pooper (reducing and working are not the same)
There are two nice, evidence-informed op-ed pieces out today on Delhi’s odd-even scheme to try to reduce air pollution (here and here). The results are heartening because I didn’t have a good sense of whether a two-week window of implementing a policy — to which there were many exceptions — was long enough to potentiallyContinueContinue reading “I feel like an #oddeven party pooper (reducing and working are not the same)”
Thoughts from #evalcon on evidence uptake, capacity building
I attended a great panel today, hosted by the thintankinitiative.org and IDRC and featuring representatives from three of TTI’s cohort of think tanks. This is part of the broader global evaluation week (#evalcon) happening in Kathmandu and focused on building bridges: use of evaluation for decision making and policy influence. The notes on evidence-uptake largely comeContinueContinue reading “Thoughts from #evalcon on evidence uptake, capacity building”
John Oliver on why context/setting matters
#lastweektonight, on mandatory minimums (video here, article with embedded video). . Context is important. For instance, shouting the phrase, “I’m coming,” is fine when catching a bus but not ok when you’re already on the bus.”
Tentative thoughts on ownership: work-in-progress
I am road-testing a few ideas from the conclusion of my thesis, in which I try to bring out two themes recurring throughout the analyses on adoption and implementation of the Phase I pilot of the AMFm in Ghana, between 2010 and 2012. These themes are ownership and risk-taking. I have already written a bitContinueContinue reading “Tentative thoughts on ownership: work-in-progress”
Heather E. Lanthorn 