Mike Gibson, Anja Sautmann, Laura Feeney, and Claire Walsh.
Introduction to randomized evaluations. J-PAL Research Resources
This resource gives an overview and non-technical introduction to randomized evaluations, highlighting work from a variety of contexts, including studies on youth unemployment in Chicago, a subsidized rice program in Indonesia, and a conditional cash transfer in Mexico. It includes guidance on when randomized evaluations can be most useful, and also discusses when they might not be the right choice as an evaluation method.
Mike Gibson, Anja Sautmann, Laura Feeney, and Claire Walsh.
Elements of a randomized evaluations. J-PAL Research Resources
This resource presents a high-level overview of the steps of a randomized evaluation, while showcasing a selection of J-PAL’s teaching and learning tools that were created as part of their online and in-person capacity building activities.
Mike Gibson, Wim Louw, and Katheryn McDermott.
Survey programming. J-PAL Research Resources
This resource covers best practices for programming a survey using computer assisted personal interview (CAPI) software. It primarily relies on examples using SurveyCTO, which is widely used by J-PAL and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), but applies to all CAPI software
Mike Gibson, and Ben Morse.
Data quality checks. J-PAL Research Resources
High-frequency checks, back-checks, and spot-checks can be used to detect programming errors, surveyor errors, data fabrication, poorly understood questions, and other issues. The results of these checks can also be useful in improving your survey, identifying enumerator effects, and assessing the reliability of your outcome measures. This resource describes use cases and how to implement each type of check, as well as special considerations relating to administrative data.
Mike Gibson, Arnesh Chowdhury, Maya Duru, Lipika Kapoor, Sarah Kopper, Wim Louw, Tithee Mukhopadhyay, and Clare Sachsee.
Implementation monitoring
Researchers should monitor the implementation of a program to preserve its integrity of the program and collect additional information that can inform the generalizability of the results of the program. There is a variety of methods available to researchers, such as administrative data, site visits, and focus group discussions. This resource provides an overview of monitoring methods, how to select indicators to monitor, and how to choose monitors.
Mike Gibson, Sarah Kopper, Marifatul Amalia, Saurabh Bhajibhakare, Putul Gupta, and Wim Louw.
Resources for conducting remote surveys
As with in-person surveys, remote survey work involves considerations at every stage of the project lifecycle. This resource summarizes key points regarding remote surveys and, where applicable, lists J-PAL’s related public resources, in which more detailed guidance can be found.
