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Purity or pragmatism? : Reflecting on the use of systematic review methodology in development

Stewart, Ruth; van Rooyen, Carina; de Wet, Thea; (2012) Purity or pragmatism? : Reflecting on the use of systematic review methodology in development. Journal of Development Effectiveness , 4 (3) pp. 430-444. Green open access

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Abstract

Systematic review methodology pioneered in health care has been increasingly applied to development questions of importance in lower- and middle-income countries. This paper reports one such review on the topic of microfinance in sub-Saharan Africa and reflects on the number of pragmatic methodological compromises made when applying the method to a new field. These compromises relate to multidisciplinary teamwork, application of regional filters, drawing on evidence from additional study types and exploring mechanisms for change through the development and testing of a causal pathway. The paper concludes that a pragmatic rigorous approach to systematically reviewing evidence of effectiveness is needed for international development.

Type: Article
Title: Purity or pragmatism? : Reflecting on the use of systematic review methodology in development
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10011671
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