Description
At the heart of policy making is a challenge of knowing what is happening in the world outside of ministries, and life as directly observed by policy makers. This challenge is commonly answered by a focus on ‘evidence-based policy-making’ which raises further questions about what evidence is, and what it should be. We look at the scientific basis for evidence, and how it manifests – and what this means for your ability as a policy advisor to use it for influencing decisions.
The module provides a framework setting outÌýwhat evidence is, where toÌý´Ú¾±²Ô»åÌýit, how toÌýÂá³Ü»å²µ±ðÌý¾±³Ù²õÌý±ç³Ü²¹±ô¾±³Ù²âÌýand – crucially – how toÌý³Ü²õ±ðÌýit effectively both for influencing decisions, and for building your influence. This will equip you to use evidence you find and identify what evidence is missing. The emphasis here is on being able to understand and critique the use of evidence in policy documents and practice the good use of evidence. At the same time, this provides you with an intellectual basis for thinking about how science operates, the nature of the scientific method, and the way different disciplinary groups approach the problem of knowing reality.Ìý This provides a basis for thinking about how to generate new evidence by using and generating data which forms the basis of Term 2 core module Analytic Methods.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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