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Methods

Over the past decade, we have developed methods and identified resources that allow us to efficiently work in teams to conduct and communicate rigorous research and analysis. These resources are not specific to any particular field of research, though they are informed by EPAR’s experience in researching international development issues related to sustainable agricultural and rural livelihoods, household well-being and equity, development finance and policy, and technology adoption. We hope that describing our methods and sharing resources will support research and analytical efforts for a wide variety of users, from students to development practitioners.

Explore the links below to learn about our perspective on the goals and processes for conducting literature reviews, portfolio reviews, data analyses, and basic text analyses. We include tips and additional resources for each. We also present general research resources and tips, including links to research resources, thoughts on helpful software tools, and general writing suggestions for preparing research reports and briefs.

  • Do you want to explore and analyze findings and trends from the current body of research on a topic? > Literature Review Resources
  • Do you want to analyze quantitative data related to your research question(s)? > Data Analysis Resources
  • Do you have a collection of related documents, e.g. an organization’s investments, and want to describe across this portfolio how different activities and outcomes are measured and evaluated, and the organization’s collective impact? > Portfolio Review Resources
  • Are you looking to evaluate simple patterns and trends within large quantities of digitized text? > Text Analysis Resources
  • Are you looking for additional resources or tips about writing academic-style applied research? > General Research Resources and Tips

If you find errors in or have suggestions about these resources, please direct your comments to Principal Investigators Leigh Anderson and Travis Reynolds at epar.evans.uw@gmail.com.