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Research at Oxfam

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A woman in a hijab, mask, and glasses points at a portion of a map.

At a glance

High quality and novel research lays the foundation for our projects, campaigns and advocacy work

Research provides essential information about what needs changing, how people are affected, and positive change strategies. We take evidence seriously; investing in staff, commissioning research projects, evaluating impact and focusing on uptake.

Oxfam staff commission, conduct and collaborate on research, as researchers, evaluation and monitoring specialists, or policy advisors. We develop methods that can give better insights on hidden issues and silenced voices. And we provide methodological guidance, peer review, and support on how to plan, manage and analyse research. Oxfam research is:

Change- and action-focused. Findings are tailored for activism. They are used to influence policy and practice change, shifting people’s hearts and minds in ways that reduce poverty and inequalities.
Methodologically diverse. Research can range from quantitative data analysis of inequality trends to story-based research on gender norms.
Co-created. Work is undertaken with the people who will use the findings, whether for advocacy, programmes or campaigns.
Intersectional and gap-filling. The issues needing the world’s attention are central to our focus, where problems collide and inequalities compound, or glaring gaps that need attention.

The Oxfam Research Network supports the building of evidence for our work and that of our partners.

Guidelines and toolkits

Inclusive Language Guide

13/03/2023

1 documents

92 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Language has the power to reinforce or deconstruct systems of power that maintain poverty, inequality and suffering. As we are making commitments to decolonization in practice, it is important that we do not forget the role of language and communications in the context of inequality. The Inclusive Language Guide is a resource to support people […]

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Discussion paper

Centring Gender and Power in Evaluation and Research: Sharing experiences from Oxfam GB’s quantitative impact evaluations

19/07/2021

3 documents

28 pages long

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

Bringing a feminist intent to research, monitoring and evaluation practices leads to defining these as tools to contribute to transforming the lives of women, girls and non-binary people, and to bringing about social justice. This has meant putting gender and power at the centre of our practice, which has in turn shaped the technical choices […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

Research Ethics: A practical guide

09/11/2020

8 documents

16 pages long

Languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

Any research must follow ethical principles, particularly when it involves people as participants and is likely to impact them. This is standard practice in academic research and a legal requirement in medical trials, but also applies to research carried out by Oxfam. Oxfam’s work focuses on vulnerable populations, and takes place under difficult circumstances. When […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

Youth-Led Participatory Action Research Guides

22/06/2022

4 documents

10 pages long

Languages: English, French

Keywords

Overview

Participatory research challenges the academic tradition in which the scientist is at the center of decisions in the research process. Inspired by popular education, this approach allows members of the community to question their living conditions and develop solutions to improve them from a social justice perspective. These guides were developed and tested as part […]

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Research report

Emergent Agency in a Time of COVID-19: Research report

28/02/2023

4 documents

Languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event in the modern era. Earlier studies demonstrated how ‘critical junctures’, which comprise major historical events and emergencies, often play an essential role in social change. This paper seeks to explore whether the COVID-19 pandemic would prove to be a similar pivotal moment, and what lessons […]

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Research report

Inspiring Better Futures: Evidence and hope for radical and transformative impact at scale in a time of crisis

10/12/2020

1 documents

44 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

The world faces converging crises of health, climate, gender and racial injustice and extreme economic inequality. The calls are mounting to ‘build back better’ to create more inclusive, caring and environmentally sustainable futures. But what evidence exists that this is possible? The Inspiring Better Futures case study series investigates whether radical change at scale is […]

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Discussion paper

Global Megatrends: Mapping the forces that affect us all

31/01/2020

1 documents

72 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Making sense of the rapid changes shaping our world is essential for determining effective strategies. Asking questions about the trends affecting us all can make efforts to reduce poverty and inequality better fit for the future, uncertain though the future is. But to which trends should we pay attention? Many think tanks, international organisations and […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

Integrating Gender in Research Planning

21/02/2019

4 documents

8 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Research can open doors for more gender equitable futures. Gender analysis is built on an understanding of the differences and inequalities in the interrelated lives of women, men, and members of other gender diverse groups, often shaped by unequal power relations and norms that dictate what roles, attitudes and behaviours are considered normal or appropriate. […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

A ‘How To’ Guide To Measuring Women’s Empowerment: Sharing experience from Oxfam’s impact evaluations

25/05/2017

1 documents

48 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

This paper shares Oxfam GB’s experience of developing an approach to measuring women’s empowerment over the course of five years, for use in its series of Effectiveness Reviews. Oxfam’s aim is for this to be an easy and practical guide which shares experience and lessons learned in order to support other evaluators and practitioners who […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

Conducting Semi-structured Interviews

15/03/2019

3 documents

6 pages long

Languages: English, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

Semi-structured interviews are a widely used technique in development research. Unlike formal interviews, which follow a rigid format of set questions, semi-structured interviews focus on specific themes but cover them in a conversational style. They are often the best way for learning about the motivations behind people’s choices and behaviour, their attitudes and beliefs, and […]

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Research report

Measuring Impact: A Meta-Analysis of Oxfam’s Livelihoods Effectiveness Reviews

08/11/2017

1 documents

56 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis examining the overall impact of 23 livelihoods projects evaluated as part of Oxfam GB’s Effectiveness Reviews between 2011 and 2016. Results show a statistically significant, positive impact on the welfare of participants, measured by household consumption and wealth. Analysis indicates an increase in household consumption of approximately […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

Undertaking Research with Ethics

22/11/2012

1 documents

4 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Any research must follow ethical principles and particular care must be taken when it involves people as participants or is likely to impact directly upon them. This section sets out the minimum ethical standards required in all research conducted or commissioned by Oxfam GB. When context-specific and/or more detailed guidance is provided by Oxfam or […]

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Discussion paper

Measuring Resilience: Lessons learned from measuring resilience in Oxfam’s large-N Effectiveness Reviews

14/12/2015

1 documents

21 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Resilience has rapidly become one of the most prominent objectives for the development sector, so ascertaining how best to measure it is an essential task for practioners working in monitoring and evaluation. In this discussion paper, the main insights emerging from the series of large-N Effectiveness Reviews, a set of quantitative studies that aim to […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

Writing Terms of Reference for Research

29/03/2019

3 documents

6 pages long

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

Oxfam strives to base its programmes on good quality research. Each year we devote significant resources to undertaking and commissioning research that will support and help to improve our work and that of our partners. Are we getting value for money in the research produced? The clarity of the Terms of Reference (TOR) given to […]

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Photo captions and credit

Rachma Rahim, monitoring and evaluation officer for Oxfam, discusses the Bena village risk map. Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam

Research at Oxfam

At a glance

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