Getting to evidence-based policy: Explainista, Randomista, or Mapista?

Three Ways of Getting to Evidence-Based Policy.
In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Bernadette Wright (@MeaningflEvdenc) does a nice job of describing three ideologies for gathering evidence to inform policy.

1. Randomista: Views randomized experiments and quasi-experimental research designs as the only reliable evidence for choosing programs.
2. Explainista: Believes useful evidence needs to provide trustworthy data and strong explanation. This often means synthesizing existing information from reliable sources.
3. Mapista: Creates a knowledge map of a policy, program, or issue. Visualizes the understanding developed in each study, where studies agree, and where each adds new understanding.

Posted by Tracy Allison Altman on 5-May-2016.

Photo credit: Juliana Arruda on Unsplash.