Crunching IFPRI data to build research capacity in Papua New Guinea

One of IFPRI’s most important pillars is capacity building, which includes training students and government analysts alike around the world in data collection and analysis, and related research techniques.

In June, the two of us, along with IFPRI Research Analyst Rachel Gilbert, partnered with the Australian National University and the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) to teach a 3-day evening seminar for the Master of Economics and Public Policy program in the UPNG School of Business and Public Policy—the 40 students included many analysts from various government departments.

The course, “Describing, Transforming, and Analyzing Data Using Stata,” aimed to give participants an overview of Stata—one of the most commonly used statistical software programs for data science—so that they could use it to prepare their masters’ theses and beyond. We covered how to develop a research question, query the data, and use Stata to analyze and present results related to key policy research questions.

Photo Credit: IFPRI