What Role for Qualitative Methods in Randomized Experiments?

Institute of Development Policy and Management Working Paper No. 2009.05

27 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2009

See all articles by Martin Prowse

Martin Prowse

University of Antwerp

Laura Camfield

University of Oxford

Date Written: October 1, 2009

Abstract

The vibrant debate on randomized experiments within international development has been slow to accept a role for qualitative methods within research designs. Whilst there are examples of how 'field visits' or descriptive analyses of context can play a complementary, but secondary, role to quantitative methods, little attention has been paid to the possibility of randomized experiments that allow a primary role to qualitative methods. This paper assesses whether a range of qualitative methods compromise the internal and external validity criteria of randomized experiments. It suggests that life history interviews have advantages over other qualitative methods, and offers one alternative to the conventional survey tool.

Keywords: qualitative methods, randomized experiments, methodology, mixed methods

JEL Classification: C93, O20

Suggested Citation

Prowse, Martin and Camfield, Laura, What Role for Qualitative Methods in Randomized Experiments? (October 1, 2009). Institute of Development Policy and Management Working Paper No. 2009.05, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1489914 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1489914

Martin Prowse (Contact Author)

University of Antwerp ( email )

Prinsstraat 13
Antwerp, 2000
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=martin.prowse

Laura Camfield

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

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