A critical role for mixed methods research and evaluation on poverty and inequality

Anabel was born in 1978 into a non-poor household in Borno, Nigeria, where her father owned a cattle business with her uncle. Upon the death of her uncle, her father stopped the business, which temporarily pushed the family into poverty. Working on the farm collaboratively with her husband, however, enabled her to escape poverty over time.

The subsequent escalation in Boko Haram-related violence in 2009 led to her husband and three children being killed. Anabel also lost her arm during these attacks. The violence drove her displacement, where she was unable to continue to engage in farming without cultivable land and living with a disability. Subsequent periods of drought and economic crises have worsened her plight.

Anabel’s experience marks a general trend in intersecting crises driving downward income mobility in Nigeria. Indeed, recent analysis of survey data from Borno in 2023 reinforces the salience of income disruptions amidst conflict and climate-related disasters

Figure 1: Key turning points in wellbeing during Anabel’s life

Online course: poverty-focused mixed methods research and evaluations

Anabel’s life history reflects an increasingly common prevalence of complex crises—such as conflict, economic crises, and climate-related disasters— that the world faces today, which constrains poverty escapes and inequality reduction.

Understanding experiences like Anabel’s, their generalisability, and developing effective policy and programming responses to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities requires holistic methodologies capable of addressing complexity amidst contexts of rapid change.

Yet undertaking mixed methods research and evaluations on these complex issues can be challenging. It is in this context that the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (CPAN) is offering a specialist professional course on mixed methods research and evaluations on poverty and inequality.

Find out more and apply

This specialist course is convened by Vidya Diwakar, Deputy Director of CPAN. Vidya is a mixed-methods researcher and policy analyst, with extensive experience working in research institutes and universities.

Here are some of the testimonials from participants in the previous course cohort:

• “The course was a terrific blend of theoretical concepts and practical application.”
• “The facilitators had a mastery of the topics covered, and proven experience in empirical research.”
• “I am redesigning our data collection templates as a result of this course and creating better guidance on using Mixed Methods Research with a particular iterative design in mind.”

The course application deadline is 19 March 2025.

So find out more about our new specialist short course and apply before the deadline:

Apply now

If you have any questions, you can contact the course convenor Vidya Diwakar directly, or contact our dedicated short courses team.