Methodology

• Author: Jordan Hill - Malin Carlberg - Richard Procee - Iva Plasilova - Marion Goubet
• Pages: 9-13

Assessment of th e im plem en tat ion o f t he Code of Pract ice on Disinform at ion

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Dir ect or at e-Gen eral for Comm uni catio ns Net wor ks, Co nten t an d Tech nolog y

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

This section provides a brief description of the methodology designed and deployed for

the study. It describes the main research tools used as well as provides a summary of

the analysis undertaken in order to reach the study conclusions. The final section outlines

some (inherent) limitations of the study.

The project roadmap is outlined in Figure 1 (below) and shows the steps in which the

study was undertaken. It was divided into four main tasks:

Task 0: Inception and conceptualisation. This task finalised the study design, timeline

and saw the study team undertake preparatory work, focusing on the evaluation

framework and conceptual approach. The study team undertook a small number of

scoping interviews during this task.

Task 1: Development of an evaluation plan: The purpose of task 1 was to design a

clearly defined and comprehensive evaluation plan that would inform the study’s

assessment of the effectiveness of the Signatories in achieving the objectives of the

Code. The output of task 1 was a brief report which built on the inception phase (Task 0)

in terms of developing the evaluation questions framework, intervention logic of the Code

and relevant indicators. Task 1 was informed by an evidence review and by a pre-

consultation interview programme which explored methodological questions (rather than

evaluative ones). Two external experts were also consulted and asked to provide quality

assurance at this stage of the study.

Task 2: Implementation of the evaluation plan: Task 2 constituted the main data

collection activities of the study and covered mapping the measures and policies of the

Signatories, creation of an online survey, selection of case studies and interview

programme. These are further described below in section 2.1.

Task 3: Suggestions for future development: The key findings and conclusions are

presented in this report, which constitutes the main output of the study.