When drawing on research evidence to inform policymaking, uncertainties abound. The COVID-19 pandemic showed how policymakers can be faced with making decisions in the context of high levels of uncertainty in a rapidly evolving situation.
The most common scientific terms used in research that relates to COVID-19. This glossary will help you understand materials that describe the biology of Coronavirus and the spread of COVID-19. It can assist in the reading of research papers and help you understand language used in drug and vaccine development. It also has a comprehensive list of international and UK organisations involved in public health, their institutional acronyms and descriptions of their work.
What is a POST PhD fellowship? Who can apply for it? Who pays for it? This page has some of the most frequently asked questions we get from prospective POST fellows, and the answers we provide them.
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This research glossary accompanies POST's research evidence content and provides definitions for terms used there.
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What is validity, reliability, generalisability and applicability of research evidence? This section will focus on the way in which quality is assessed in quantitative and qualitative research.
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After data are collected, research studies can use various forms of analysis to draw conclusions from the information. This section goes over the different strategies for analysing data.
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A research study can collect quantitative data and/or qualitative data. This section goes over the different types of data researchers are able to collect, and the methods they employ to conduct their research.
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Secondary research refers to the analysis and synthesis of primary research. Secondary research can review primary research evidence- if you collect it together and explain what it says about an area.
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This section defines some of the study designs most commonly cited in POST’s work. Primary research refers to individual studies where researchers generate and analyse their own data. Secondary research refers to the synthesis and/or reanalysis of primary research data. We will start with primary research.
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There's a huge range of research evidence out there. Why is it different than other types of information? How is it collected and analysed? Here we have collected resources to help you understand and use research evidence more effectively.
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To make sure our parliamentary briefings are comprehensive and balanced, we need insights from the expert community. This includes experts from academia, industry, government, the third sector and beyond. Could that be you? This is a short guide on submitting your expertise to POST.
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POST has been producing policy briefings for over thirty years. In this time, we have written over 600 briefings and have honed our technique. Here we go over the typical production process of POSTnotes and POSTbriefs.