Finding out fast : investigative skills for policy and development

Introduction - Alan Thomas PART ONE: CONCEPTUALISING POLICY-RELATED INVESTIGATION Information Needs and Policy Change - Stephen Potter and Ramya Subrahmanian Boundaries for Thinking and Action - Chris Blackmore and Ray Ison Grabbing Attention - Joseph Hanlon PART TWO: THINKING WITH PAPER How to Do a Literature Study - Stephanie Barrientos Interpreting Institutional Discourses - Bridget O'Laughlin PART THREE: THINKING WITH PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS People as Informants - Philip Woodhouse Investigation as Empowerment - Hazel Johnson and Linda Mayoux Using Participatory Methods Organizational Assessment and Institutional Footprints - Chris Roche Dilemmas of Researching Poverty - Dina Abbott Communicating Results - Joanna Chataway and Avril Joffe PART FOUR: THINKING WITH DATA Thinking with Quantitative Data - Chandan Mukherjee and Marc Wuyts Analysing Institutional Accounts - Geoff Jones Critical Issues in Using Data - Sue Mayer Challenging Cases - Alan Thomas Conclusion - Alan Thomas and Joanna Chataway Personal Effectiveness and Integrity