Many evaluations and assessments involve a team of researchers conducting a series of key informant and group interviews at one point in time over a three- to four-week period of fieldwork. Yet such studies regularly produce several complaints about accuracy and reliability of the findings and the subsequent usefulness of the study. USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) recently commissioned a study to develop guidance on addressing seven common challenges and pain points in qualitative evaluation work, including: 1) case and site selection for small-n studies; 2) selection of respondents; 3) social desirability bias; 4) qualitative data capture; 5) qualitative data analysis; 6) evidentiary support for statements; and 7) clarity of findings to facilitate use.
In this webinar Luis A. Camacho (Social Impact), Kate Marpell-Cantrell (Cloudburst), and Daniel Sabet (USAID/DRG) present study findings and this guidance. The webinar explores each challenge and offers minimum standards and good practices. The presentation concludes with guidance for study commissioners to be followed by a discussion.
Luis A.Camacho is a Senior Technical Director at Social Impact and serves as the Director of Research for the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Learning, Evaluation, and Research (LER) III Activity. He has over 15 years of experience conducting research and evaluations and providing technical expertise in the DRG sector. He has led and overseen several impact and performance evaluations, assessment, surveys, and other studies for the Evidence and Learning Team at USAID’s DRG Center and other clients. Luis holds a PhD in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.
Kate Marpell-Cantrell is a Senior Researcher and Global Development Practice Lead at The Cloudburst Group with more than 10 years of experience globally in mixed methods research and policy analysis in democracy and governance. Her work focuses on rigorous research and evaluation in democracy and governance, land and conservation, and vulnerable populations with USAID, MCC, and the World Bank. She serves as Director of Research on the Learning, Evaluation, and Research III Task Order for USAID's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance. Kate holds Masters degrees in International Area Studies and City Planning from the University of California Berkeley.
Daniel Sabet is a Senior Learning Advisor with the Learning and Evidence Team at USAID’s DRG Bureau. He has over 20 years of experience researching, evaluating, and supporting DRG interventions globally and is the author of several books and articles, including Understanding Political Science Research Methods. Daniel has a PhD in Political Science from Indiana University and is a former Fulbright Fellow.