I am writing about phase-in / pipeline designs. Again. I’ve already done it here. and more here. but. The premise of a pipeline or phase-in design is that groups will be randomized or otherwise experimentally allocated to receive a given intervention earlier or later. The ‘later’ group can then serve as the comparison for theContinueContinue reading “Pipeline Designs and Equipoise: How Can They Go Together?”
Category Archives: Research
On Science, from Eula Biss’s On Immunity
A nice reminder from Eula Biss (via On Immunity: An Inoculation) that science is a series of building blocks, with small tests and then bigger ones to see if each brick helps us reach higher and see farther. Science is, as scientists like to say, “self-correcting,” meaning that errors in preliminary studies are, ideally, revealedContinueContinue reading “On Science, from Eula Biss’s On Immunity”
Center and Peripherary in Doing Development Differently
I have spent almost three weeks back in TX, which was supposed to be, in part, a time of immense productivity in front of our fireplace (yes, it is chilly here. Probably not enough to warrant a fire but still. I am sitting in front of the fireplace and paying for carbon credits to mitigateContinueContinue reading “Center and Peripherary in Doing Development Differently”
Hey, you’re sick? Can we know where you live? (simple experiments, complicated designs)
I have been working on a blog for 3ie (*now posted, here!), based on a Delhi seminar talk I gave recently, in turn based on this paper and this blog on using text messages to increase completion of anti-malarial treatment. Not all of the material I initially wrote will appear in the final blog –ContinueContinue reading “Hey, you’re sick? Can we know where you live? (simple experiments, complicated designs)”
Learning by asking: a modest proposal to engage those who did the doing
This post was originally published at Innovations for Poverty Action. it represents an effort to follow-through on some themes I have raised before and hope to continue to raise. Most development interventions are carried out and delivered by local research staff and residents. Such implementation is rarely a straightforward ‘technical’ operation but, rather, there isContinueContinue reading “Learning by asking: a modest proposal to engage those who did the doing”
Planning for qualitative data collection and analysis
This blog reflects conversations and on-going work with both Mike Frick (@mwfrick), Shagun Sabarwal (@shagunsabarwal), and Urmy Shukla (@urmy_shukla) — they should receive no blame if this blog is wacky and plenty of credit if it is not. A recent post by monkey cage contributors on The Washington Post, then summarized by BITSS, asked/suggested whetherContinueContinue reading “Planning for qualitative data collection and analysis”
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)”
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”
have evidence, will… um, erm (6 of 6, enforcing accountability in decision-making)
this is a joint post with suvojit, continuing from 5 of 6 in the series. it is also cross-posted here. a recent episode reminded us of why we began this series of posts, of which is this is the last. we recently saw our guiding scenario for this series play out: a donor wasContinueContinue reading “have evidence, will… um, erm (6 of 6, enforcing accountability in decision-making)”
Heather E. Lanthorn 