5 Simple Questions to Ask About Nonprofit Research - Opinion - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

5 Simple Questions to Ask About Nonprofit Research - Opinion - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: As Nonprofit 'Research’ Proliferates, It Must Be Viewed With Healthy Skepticism

In the last decade or so, the number of organizations and academic institutions doing what is billed as “research” on philanthropy has proliferated.

That is, by and large, a good thing, and I have been heartened at the Center for Effective Philanthropy by how hungry foundation leaders are for pragmatic information about what it takes to do a better job. But the rise of so many research groups increases the importance of understanding what—in the slew of reports and articles being e-mailed, tweeted, and otherwise distributed—is based on careful data gathering and analysis and what is not.