In the latest collaboration between ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and the University of Papua New Guinea, a two-day Quantitative Methods Workshop was held on 29-30 July at the recently renamed School of Business and Public Policy in Port Moresby.
Led by Devpolicy Research Fellow and Crawford School academic Dr Anthony Swan, 27 participants from a wide range of government institutions – UPNG, the Department of Education, the National Statistics Office, the Bank of PNG, and the National Research Institute – clamoured around laptops and worked hard to master the statistical intricacies of Excel and STATA.
The workshop, supported by the Australian aid program, was designed to help increase the capacity of researchers in PNG to utilise quantitative methods in their research and policy analysis.
Participants particularly enjoyed the practical application of the concepts, with one participant summarising it neatly: “Practical examples always help in demystifying the theory.” Another shared their enthusiasm for the training: “I am grateful for the opportunity to gain some knowledge and experience in quantitative research methods and am looking forward to more workshops. As a junior researcher I find this an exciting beginning to a long journey in research.”
Perhaps a course in causal analysis is called for? At least for headline writers.
In regard to your headline … is there any evidence of this :)?