Applied Research
Literature reviews, surveys, interviews, and field studies, each designed around the decision it must inform.
We design each study around the decision it needs to inform, then choose the methods. For Prevention Forward, audience research with healthcare professionals and community health workers came before any design. Our Programmable Space white paper proposes a protocol for treating physical space as a stateful, machine-readable resource.
Services & deliverables
Literature reviews
We search and summarize published and gray literature on a defined question, and report what the evidence supports and where it is thin.
Survey design & administration
We write, pilot, and field surveys online, by phone, or in person, then clean the data and report results by audience segment.
Qualitative interviews & focus groups
We recruit participants, moderate interviews and focus groups, and code the transcripts into themes that sit alongside the quantitative findings.
Field studies & ethnographic research
We observe services, meetings, and neighborhoods in person to document how programs actually operate and how people use them day to day.
Data analysis & statistical modeling
We analyze survey, administrative, and public datasets, using statistical models to test which factors are driving the outcomes in question.
Policy analysis & environmental scans
We review laws, regulations, and comparable programs in other jurisdictions to show what exists, what has worked, and what options are open.
Evidence synthesis & meta-analysis
We combine findings across studies using systematic methods and, where the data allow, pool effect sizes into a single quantitative estimate.
Research instrument development
We build surveys, interview guides, observation protocols, and scoring rubrics, testing each for clarity and reliability before it goes into the field.
Where we've applied this
Talk to us about Applied Research
Tell us the problem first. We will scope which capabilities and stages it needs, and reply within two business days.
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