By Alice Hutchins
Data is one of the essential components in understanding economic and political development in countries from the Global South, such as Africa. That is why the Department of Economics and International Development at Dalhousie University, Canada, are hosting a workshop to procure papers on the collection and analysis data on agricultural productivity, conflict, and the environment. The goal of the workshop is to improve research and knowledge on development relating to poverty in Africa, in order to develop a more specific understanding.
‘Social scientists now frequently combine traditional survey and financial data with remote sensing and demographic/health data—or both—to make inferences about development progress and well-being on the ground. The innovative use of these “found” large-scale data has the potential to accelerate the generation of knowledge about poverty and development. However, it also poses a problem: the data that researchers are using often do not originate from their own disciplines, and unfamiliarity with the data and its structure can pose an obstacle to correct inference and policy formulation.’ –
Therefore, the request is for high0quality data using large, multi-level, or not tradititional datasets, which highlight measurement error or missingness within the work. Quantitative research, that has bee gathered through thorough observation, is the key topic of presentation for this conference, but qualitative papers that promote filed-based or contextualized data are also welcome, as they may contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the numerical data. The papers chosen will then be subject to intensive workshopping, of both the panel and peers who are expected to have read all conference papers in advance.
The conference takes place over two days, From Friday 10th May until Saturday 11th, in Nova Scotia. Scholars chosen from low-income areas within lower-income countries or the global south can apply for funding to include travel expenses and accommodation for one author per paper. From all of us at the GSAN team, a word to say that if any of the information in this blog post applies to you, then please head over to the website below and put yourself and your work forward!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdw8P3UZzwlrgLiQF0xDBkc5KCTbQcGTf9r5c7D8sa1NwJEbg/viewform