{"id":333,"date":"2022-12-15T20:56:55","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T04:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/?page_id=333"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:45:30","slug":"implementation-research-methodologies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/resources\/implementation-science-101\/implementation-research-methodologies\/","title":{"rendered":"Implementation research methodologies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Implementation science employs a wide range of methodologies that originate from diverse disciplines. Below are twelve distinct research methods that contribute to implementation science. This, however, is not an exhaustive list of methods used in implementation research.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"grid row    \" >\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Stakeholder &amp; Policy Analysis<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>The intentional integration of stakeholder perspectives and feedback in the analysis of policy advisability, execution and impact <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Dissemination Research<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>The targeted distribution of information and intervention materials to a specific public health audience or clinical practice audience <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Social Marketing<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>The application of marketing principals to policy selection, as well as to implementation or intervention planning and operational delivery. This is done in a reflexive and critical manner <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"grid row    \" >\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Surveillance &amp; Data Systems<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Routine surveillance data from control and experimental groups can be used illustrate the performance or impact of new policies and programs in an environment <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Impact Evaluation<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Quantitative evaluations of the changes attributable to the intervention being studied. In an impact evaluation, IS aims to better understand why and how interventions work in practice <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Economic Evaluation &amp; Costing<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Monetary-focused assessments evaluating system efficiency and allocation of resources to implementations, interventions, or services <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"grid row    \" >\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Qualitative Research<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>The gathering of non-numerical data (interviews, focus group discussions, etc.) to understand concepts, opinions, and experiences. Examples include acceptability studies, evaluations of facilitators and barriers, etc. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Operations Research<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Includes operational research modeling and systems engineering techniques <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Organizational Assessment<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Assessments that measure an organization&#8217;s capacity, performance, culture, climate, readiness for implementation or change, external context, and\/or social networks <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"grid row    \" >\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Systems Analysis and Improvement Approach (SAIA)<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Evidence-based implementation strategy that combines system engineering tools into a five-step, facility-level package to give clinic staff and managers a system-wide view of their cascade performance, identify priority areas for improvement, discern modifiable opportunities for improvement, and test workflow modifications <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Intervention Mapping<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Implementation Mapping provides a systematic process for developing strategies to improve the adoption, implementation, and maintenance of evidence-based interventions in real-world settings. This iterative process begins with conducting an implementation needs assessment and concludes with evaluating implementation outcomes. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"col-sm\">\n<div  class=\"card text-left no-image lightgold \" style=\"width:100%\">\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<h2 class=\"card-title mb-0\">Process Mapping<\/h2>\n<div class=\"udub-slant-divider\"><span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content\">\n<p>Tool for assessing site context prior to implementation of an intervention\/program and used to adapt implementation\/evaluate the program. Process maps show the steps and flow of a process and are used in quality improvement to examine current processes and identify areas to intervene to improve quality <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Read More<\/h2>\n<p>The UW Implementation Science Resource Hub has more information about these <a href=\"https:\/\/impsciuw.org\/implementation-science\/research\/select-research-methods\/\"><strong>methodologies<\/strong><\/a>, and guidance on how to <a href=\"https:\/\/impsciuw.org\/implementation-science\/research\/designing-is-research\/\"><strong>choose a study design<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Implementation science employs a wide range of methodologies that originate from diverse disciplines. Below are twelve distinct research methods that contribute to implementation science. This, however, is not an exhaustive list of methods used in implementation research. Read More The UW Implementation Science Resource Hub has more information about these methodologies, and guidance on how to choose a study design. &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":327,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-333","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/333\/revisions\/840"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwhivishub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}