Evidence Based Policy Research Methods (EPRM) course at UNU-MERIT
/As a journalist who is part of a news research team, I am required to produce extensive and in-depth news articles on varied topics like policy, development, human rights, environment and law. Hence I applied to study the Evidence Based Policy Research Methods course at UNU-MERIT, a joint research and training institute of the United Nations University and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance based in Maastricht, Netherlands. I chose this university because of its affiliation with the UN and also because of their expertise and research which particularly focuses on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). This course is a post graduate programme which trains participants in translating policy issues into research questions and analysing qualitative and quantitative data. It enables students to develop state-of-the-art research in a particular field, and design, write, and disseminate proposals for evidence-based research in the workplace or in a broader research environment. This course covers research skills that transcend different disciplines. It involves in-class and online-based training. Hence, it is very flexible and suitable for working professionals who are looking to enhance their knowledge on evidence-based research.
Who Can Apply and How?
This course is meant for researchers from academic institutions or policymakers seeking to strengthen their research competencies and outputs. It is useful for staff in universities, research units within businesses, NGOs, ministries and think tanks. Incidentally, I am the first Journalist to apply for this course. I strongly believe that journalists need to have excellent research skills and a good understanding of policy. I also believe that Journalism and Policy are two sides of the same coin. These two fields are very closely interlinked. Journalists report, investigate and critically analyse various policies and policy makers rely on journalists to inform the public about their policies and also to improve them. People also rely on journalists for a realistic view of policies. Hence Journalists should also be careful and not become just mouthpieces for policymakers. As George Orwell said, “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.” Policymakers should also not infringe upon the freedom of the press. Hence the right balance between journalism and policy is very vital for the functioning of a healthy democracy. Also, there have been many instances where journalists have become policymakers and policy analysts and the vice versa is also true. Policymakers and analysts also write journalistic articles. Hence journalism and policy are two sides of the same coin.
The application process for the EPRM course was simple and straight-forward. I wrote a one-page research proposal on a topic of my interest. Personally, I am passionate about investigative environmental journalism so my research proposal was tailored to this topic. My research proposal was about finding links between corruption in environmental governance and environmental degradation. I looked forward to learning more about evidence-based and investigative research methods during the course.
Diversity of Students at UNU-MERIT
My course mates were from diverse backgrounds and countries and this was something I enjoyed as it offered me the chance to interact with a diverse group of people which further enriched the learning experience. Each of my classmates were from different fields, had different research interests, and were from different countries. As a result, classroom discussions were a very rewarding experience. We also realised that there was unity despite the diversity. We were united by the problems and issues faced by our countries and we were also united in our ambitions to resolve them. Some of my classmates were working with UN organizations, Defence Department in the Netherlands, the World Bank, the Brazilian Education Ministry, and some were academics from various institutions in Japan and America. I was also the youngest person enrolled in the class, and this gave me the opportunity to interact and gain career insights and knowledge from my more experienced course mates and teachers.
The conversations in the classrooms would revolve around learning how to speak different languages, politics in various countries, workplaces around the world, cultures and traditions, economics, leadership, war and conflict. This course was a learning experience steeped in diversity and that I believe is the greatest of all experiences. A diverse environment encourages you to step out of echo chambers and open up your mind to different perspectives and possibilities. As a Journalist, I cherish such learning experiences because it helps me to look at things from various angles and capture the soul of a story.
The Course Experience
The course included memorable online and in-person modules. During the online sessions, there were weekly Skype calls scheduled with our tutors where we would have group discussions simultaneously with all classmates located in different time zones around the world. During the two in-person sessions in Maastricht, we had the opportunity to network and work on our research proposals, while learning about research methods specific to our research interests. The various modules in the course were research design, proposal development, research analysis, academic writing, proposal presentation and research dissemination. Each and every participant of this course had varied research interests and these modules were customized individually. These modules taught me how to research any topic, helped me write a complete research proposal and at the end of the course, present it before an audience confidently.
We were asked to read many research articles from academics and authors across the world to expand our knowledge of our research interest. This exercise opened my mind to various possibilities and research ideas. I chose to specialize in the Governance module, where one of the reading materials was Fareed Zakaria’s “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy”. A Journalist himself, Fareed Zakaria’s words on foreign affairs and the decline of democracy were eye-opening. This made me realise that Journalists need to be more aware of foreign policy, diverse cultures and practices of the world in order to produce unbiased and credible news articles on international topics from various viewpoints.
After reading many research papers and articles for this course, I now find researching for writing news articles much easier. We were taught to use software which helped us sort through and quickly get information from large research papers and data sets. This has helped me to easily set out groundwork for news research articles on international news stories, such as recent articles I have written about world elections, gun culture in the USA, and climate change. As my research interest is investigative environmental journalism, I read many research articles, papers, and investigative stories on the environment and global environmental policies. Through the support of this programme, I am now more confident when I write news stories on the environment. I have recently written stories on the impacts of desalination plants on coastal communities, nuclear waste storage and disposal, drought and the impacts of climate change.
Future Endeavours
At the end of the course, we had to present a research proposal to senior academicians which can be used to apply for a PhD program. The knowledge gained from this program also helps with future career and academic applications, beyond a PhD program. I found UNU-MERIT to be an inspiring place where a lot of really talented and passionate people come together to produce research on various topics of great social relevance. After attending this course and experiencing the University and the city of Maastricht, I am inspired to apply for their part-time PhD program in Governance and Policy. This PhD program is tailored for working professionals, allowing me to research and study policy and also simultaneously advance my career as a Journalist. As I mentioned before, Journalism and Policy are two sides of the same coin and I am looking forward to exploring and learning more about both sides of that coin.
Video
Evidence Based Policy Research Methods - Course Experience
Author: Krithiga Narayanan
Krithiga is a Freelance Journalist who works for the News Research Division of Daily Thanthi, a news organisation based in India. She has studied Evidence Based Policy Research Methods (EPRM) course at UNU-MERIT, a joint research and training institute of the United Nations University and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance based in Maastricht, Netherlands. Krithiga talks about how this course helped her in honing her research skills and learn more about policy.
Published 14th October 2019
Photo of Krithiga Narayanan