Blog

There have been many innovations in data collection methods over the past few months to adapt to contactless research. Many research organizations, including J-PAL, have shifted to data collection through phone surveys, as field activities remain halted. As we support and strengthen these...

As the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold worldwide, J-PAL affiliated professors and staff jumped into action to critically analyze the evidence base and work closely with government partners to inform policy decisions with evidence.

There is still time, and it can be done safely. The economic and social payoff is totally worth it. This op-ed was originally posted in the New York Times on June 29, 2020.

Over the past few months, we’ve developed new resources on transitioning to phone surveys, with guides that span from budgeting to remote trainings to quality assurance best practices. They are intended to complement our crowd-sourced best practices by providing in-depth guides that address...

Since the spread of COVID-19, researchers across the globe have experienced the challenges of conducting research in a socially distant manner. This blog provides an overview of how to obtain signatures--for example, to document informed consent, or to execute a legal agreement—without physical...

As communities and governments find new and resilient ways to support families during the pandemic, schools have stood out as useful nodes within communities. For example, schools or Ministries of Education in many countries worldwide are providing much-needed nutritional support to families...

Field officers play a vital role in J-PAL Africa’s research projects. I interviewed three team members who have been involved in multiple J-PAL Africa research projects in Johannesburg over the years: Siyabonga Mudau, Nonhlanhla Hlanguza, and Joseph Shingange.

If governments don’t have a good picture of the health care needs of their citizens, how can they begin to address them effectively and efficiently? Governments around the world are all too familiar with this paradox, which can be particularly challenging if administrative data on health care...