Introduction to Q-Squared in Policy: the Use of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods of Poverty Analysis in Decision-Making
Paul Shaffer Trent University Canada Ravi Kanbur Cornell University Ithaca NY, USA Nguyen Thu Hang Centre for Analysis and Forecasting Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences Hanoi, Vietnam Ellen Bortei-Doku Aryeetey Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research University of Ghana Accra, Ghana
Abstract: This introductory essay for the journal Symposium presents an overview of issues related to 'Q-Squared in Policy: the use of qualitative and quantitative methods of poverty analysis in decision-making'. We focus on issues raised on the supply side of data use, relating, inter alia to the informational content and policy usefulness of different types of data and analysis. These issues are grouped under the headings of: outcomes vs. processes, unpacking processes and thick and thin. We begin however, with a brief discussion of one aspect of the demand side, namely the politics of data use, given its centrality to the issues at hand.
Key words: poverty; methods; mixed method research; policy process; methodological pluralism; impact assessment
Introduction
Over the last decade, there has been a marked increase in the combined use of qualitative and quantitative (Q-Squared or Q2) methods in the analysis of poverty. Issues related to Q2 research have figured prominently in a number of recent conferences, workshops and research projects 1 and a quite sizeable body of work now exists 2 . The present volume is a contribution to this growing literature.
The individual contributions in this Symposium were originally presented at the third in a series of Q2 conferences held in Hanoi, Vietnam at the Centre for Analysis and Forecasting, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, July 7-8, 2007. The first Q2 Conference at Cornell University, March 15-16, 2001, focused on conceptual and definitional issues. The second Q2 Conference, 'Q-Squared in Practice,' held at the

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