The evaluation of the role of face masks in preventing respiratory infections is a paradigm case in synthesising complex evidence (i.e. extensive, diverse, technically specialised, and with multilevel chains of causality). Primary studies have assessed different mask types, diseases, populations, and settings using different research designs. Numerous review teams have attempted to synthesise this literature, in which observational (case–control, cohort, cross-sectional) and ecological studies predominate. Their findings and conclusions vary widely.

This article critically examines how 66 systematic reviews dealt with mask efficacy studies. Risk-of-bias tools produced unreliable assessments when—as was often the case—review teams lacked methodological expertise or topic-specific understanding. This was especially true when datasets were large and heterogeneous, with multiple biases playing out in different ways and requiring nuanced adjustments. In such circumstances, tools were sometimes used crudely and reductively rather than to support close reading of primary studies and guide expert judgments. Various moves by reviewers—excluding observational evidence altogether, assessing risk but not direction of biases, omitting distinguishing details of primary studies, and producing meta-analyses that combined studies of different designs or included studies at critical risk of bias—served to obscure important aspects of heterogeneity, resulting in bland and unhelpful summary statements.

We draw on philosophy to question the formulaic use of generic risk-of-bias tools, especially when the primary evidence demands expert understanding and tailoring of study quality questions to the topic. We call for more rigorous training and oversight of reviewers of complex evidence and for new review methods designed specifically for such evidence.

This paper contributes to the literature on nonprofit social ventures and discourse studies by identifying discursive resources leveraged to craft the intended image of a nonprofit organization. The intended organizational image plays a central role in the way stakeholders, notably sponsors, perceive a nonprofit organization. Nonetheless, we have little research aimed at identifying the resources and tools that organizations mobilize to structure their intended image, especially at the discourse level. Drawing on the analysis of the discourses adopted by a Brazilian not-for-profit organization, we propose a typology of five discursive resources: distinctiveness, identification, justification, storytelling, and validation. These resources operate as discursive-rhetoric tools that allow the organization to assert its uniqueness and shared values, legitimize its mission, narrate impact, and demonstrate credibility. Our findings contribute to a discourse-based understanding of nonprofit image construction by offering a framework that complements existing work in branding and legitimacy. The study also provides practical insights for nonprofit managers seeking to communicate authentically and efficiently with key stakeholders.

Although the needs of conflict-affected children are well-documented, research on the post-conflict period is limited, particularly in Syria, where the fall of the Assad regime has created a rapidly evolving environment for internally displaced children. This study explores how key informants perceive the mental health needs, daily stressors and coping strategies of internally displaced children during the post-regime period. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 staff members from a non-governmental organization working in psychosocial support in the Syria camps. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Five major themes emerged: (1) stressors in the current camp environment, (2) challenges related to return, (3) observed emotional and behavioral difficulties, (4) children’s psychological resources and (5) needs and gaps in support services. Findings highlight the inseparability of children’s mental health from basic needs, the role of place-based attachments in return processes and the importance of a holistic approach that considers context-specific stressors and resources in this unique period.

The local implementation team (LIT) in Chervonohrad (now Sheptytskyi) was launched in January 2020 with support from the Mental Health for Ukraine project and the Implemental Worldwide Community Interest Company. This paper highlights the core activities, challenges and outcomes of the LIT. Feedback from those involved suggests that, despite major nationwide challenges experienced in Ukraine, the LIT improved local understanding of mental health needs, established referral pathways and fostered effective intersectoral collaboration. This experience suggests that LITs can play a crucial role in improving community mental health during times of crisis, by providing flexible coordination.

In their 2012 publication A Tale of Two Cultures, Gary Goertz and James Mahoney argue that empirical research in the social sciences aiming at causal inference can be differentiated into a qualitative and a quantitative methodological culture. The two cultures differ fundamentally in how researchers approach and implement empirical studies. The argument is well laid out and comprehensively illustrated, but the empirical validity of the two cultures hypothesis has not yet been evaluated systematically. This note introduces a research project that aims to test the two cultures hypothesis via an empirical analysis of how qualitative and quantitative methods are applied. To determine whether there is a qualitative and quantitative method culture, the researchers initially sampled 30 articles from three journals (Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of Political Research, World Politics) in the 2008–2012 period. Based on this dataset, no evidence was found for the existence of coherent systems of methods practices in political science.

The relationship between social innovation venture and poor communities has received little attention from studies in the area of social innovation. In order to clarify this relationship, our study seeks to answer: What strategies would help to bring social innovation ventures closer to poor communities? We developed an empirical and qualitative research in a social innovation venture and two poor beneficiary communities in Brazil. The results indicate that the proximity between those agents was based on five main items: (a) reputation of the social venture; (b) appropriate prices according to the community’s reality; (c) close relations with the community; (d) structure proximity; and (e) winning the community leadership’s trust. Thus, our study contributes to the literature by exploring the beneficiary communities and their relationship with social innovation ventures. In addition, we suggest the use of the term “social innovation venture” to designate a wide range of types of organizations willing to generate social innovation in the practical field.

In this research, we focus on the governance role of the coordinator affiliated to the leading agency in public–nonprofit service networks. We analyze the extent to which different types of coordinators are able to build consensus on a set of network goals in close collaboration with the nonprofit network partners. We explore three network cases, respectively, coordinated by a commissioner, a co-producer and a facilitator. Both network coordinators and respondents from participating nonprofit service agencies are interviewed.In contrast to earlier studies our analysis indicates that, in comparison with a facilitator, a commissioner and a co-producer are better equipped to reach consensus on a set of goals in service networks. The practice of synthesis is considered as very important when establishing consensus in a network.

Volunteers are integral to the delivery of health and social services in many countries. Volunteer motivation is the key phenomenon around which research into the psychology of volunteering behaviour has been based in the recent past. This study comprised interviews with 26 volunteers working with eight health and social care organizations in Ireland. The study aimed to describe and interpret reasons for initial and continued volunteering involvement. Four key themes were proposed on the basis of a thematic analysis: volunteer motives; personal connections to organizations and causes; benefits; and challenges arising from volunteering. These themes are analysed in light of social psychological theory to better understand why people volunteer and maintain their involvement in the face of competing demands. The findings suggest that benefits and challenges merit a higher profile in research into the volunteer process, and that bonds of perceived obligation motivate many volunteers to begin and continue their involvement in health and social care.

Since the pandemic, older adults have become more willing to adopt video calling to stay connected with loved ones. Prior research indicates that video-mediated communication has the potential to facilitate perceived closeness to interaction partners, but may present difficulties for older adults of advanced ages in terms of usability and accessibility, challenging them to benefit as much from the distance-reducing properties of video calling as younger older adults. However, the video-calling experiences of those aged 75+ and the specific conditions enabling them to overcome medium-related challenges, especially in informal settings, have remained relatively unexplored. This study aimed to gain deeper understanding of the circumstances that shape perceptions of distance and closeness during the video-mediated interactions of this age group. Using grounded theory analysis of 108 interviews, it identified five key properties and three roles ascribed to video-mediated communication, revealing that respondents’ perceptions of distance and proximity were contingent upon their appraisals of video calling’s properties in light of their broader emotional, relational and interactional contexts. The findings confirm video calling’s potential to reduce perceived distance in the informal encounters of individuals aged 75+. Nevertheless, fear of substitution of in-person contacts may overshadow video calling’s positive aspects, undermining any perceived closeness to interaction partners. By unveiling the mechanisms central to empowering or impeding these individuals in navigating medium-related challenges and overcoming perceived distance during video-mediated interactions, this article sheds light on the age-related specificity of their video-calling experiences and offers valuable starting points for developing strategies to help them benefit fully from video-mediated social-interaction opportunities.

Qualitative political science research can significantly increase its credibility if researchers take robust steps toward replicability and enhanced transparency. Making explicit decisions on planning and implementing research, together with commitment to comprehensive reporting, improves transparency. Three instruments serve to this objective: in the planning stage, research protocols map prospective actions in the implementation of research. In the implementing stage, research notebooks permit recording all decisions, deviations and events affecting research. Practical and ethical considerations may prevent the full disclosure of these research notebooks, and, hence, carefully drafted research implementation records provide, in the publication stage, a useful instrument to convey this information. Increased transparency (as created by the use of these three instruments) will lead to better options for replicability, and this, in turn, will increase the validity of qualitative research and dispel some of the concerns about its methodological soundness.

The organizational culture of nonprofit organizations is affected by the context in which they are embedded. Based on a qualitative study of local civic associations in Novosibirsk, Russia, this article illustrates how nonprofit organizational culture has been shaped by historical and contemporary social and cultural conditions. The fluid situation for civil society in Russia has generated varied organizational culture across nonprofits. Interview data reveal different value orientations, distinct group identities, and different images of the ideal civic association: as a social establishment, as an outlet for self-expression, as a network of experts, or as a social startup. This resulting diversity of organizational culture has implications for the potential for partnerships among nonprofits, between nonprofits and government, between nonprofits and businesses, and also for the organizational survival of nonprofits in this setting.

This study examines the motivations of young Arabs—as a national minority in Israel—for enrolling in civic service contrary to the discourse of the Arab leadership, which repudiates their participation. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with Muslim, Christian, Bedouin, and Druze Arab volunteers who acknowledged that although civic service would not end discrimination against them, it could improve their subjective feeling in their homeland. Civic service also plays a major role in resource accumulation, and a combination of meager family resources and significant high school achievement compels them to volunteer in order to pay for their undergraduate education. The program offers particular benefits for Druze and Bedouin women: in the absence of suitable jobs for religious women, it provides them with economic independence as well as religious protection. The draw of civic service stems from its role as a path that meets the unique needs of minorities, the middle class, and women.

Medical Royal Colleges publish obituaries to record and celebrate the lives of colleagues after their deaths. Who is included in this roll of honour, the preferred literary style, and the organisation of the commissioning and publishing all vary between colleges. Since obituaries have fashions, shaped by culture and practical considerations, it is worthwhile, from time to time, for institutions to review the approaches they take. This paper draws on practices past and present, including those of national newspapers and Royal Colleges, to stimulate further discussion on the subject.