HOST Policy Research: Our Services
Linking narrative input to quantitative output
As part of our portfolio of methodologies, HOST is pleased to be able to offer the opportunity to conduct large scale and/or long-term narrative surveys using the SenseMaker® application suite.
SenseMaker® www.sensemaker-suite.com is a new research instrument that enables the analysis of large volumes of narrative material. The instrument is usually implemented through a web interface but can be operated in other ways and can be used to collect narrative in a wide variety of formats.
Rather than rely on expert analysis of individual stories, a slow process which restricts the sample size and is subject to potential cognitive bias, SenseMaker® provides a structure for the contributors to express the context-specific significance of their own stories at the time of telling. Pattern recognition and visualisation tools then help the researchers analyse this meta-data, rather than the individual stories themselves. The analysis tools also output standard statistical measures derived from the qualitative inputs.
Once set up, a SenseMaker® survey can run for months or years at low cost. The instrument is in use globally and has been applied in a variety of settings – for attitudinal and behavioural studies, to identify emerging practice in complex environments, for performance management, impact evaluation and market research. Because the focus is not on individual stories, data can be collected in any language with translation only necessary where the analysis indicates that certain specific stories are critical.
“Because of their existing knowledge and contacts HOST were able to hit the ground running on a project with a very short turnaround time, which enabled milestones to be hit in a timely manner.”