Pathways Consulting Services Ltd (PCSL) is a distinguished and well-established research and consulting firm in Bangladesh, with over two decades of impactful contributions across key sectors such as agriculture, health, education, child marriage, and migration. Renowned for consistently exceeding client expectations, PCSL plays a crucial role in supporting government policymaking and driving positive change.
Our team comprises highly regarded researchers and experts, including professors, political scientists, sociologists, economists, agronomists, educationists, planners, and gender specialists. Each member brings unparalleled expertise, ensuring the delivery of the highest quality services across every stage of the research process.
PCSL has a proven track record of delivering customized solutions tailored to the unique needs of each project and client. We offer comprehensive services encompassing all phases of research, including questionnaire development, form design, training, data collection, analysis, and report writing.
Widely recognized for excellence, experience, ethics, and integrity, PCSL upholds the highest standards at every level of operation, from field enumerators to senior researchers.
Registered with the “Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms” under the Company’s Act (Act XVIII) of 1994, and licensed by Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), PCSL operates in compliance with Bangladesh’s legal framework. The company inherits the management and expertise of the reputed consulting house ‘Pathway,’ which began operations in 1999 and transitioned into PCSL in 2006. We diligently maintain up-to-date records and operate with full transparency and accountability.
Our mission is to support development projects with cutting-edge research and IT services, always prioritizing our clients’ needs and fostering a spirit of partnership.
Our vision is to become a centre of excellence, providing innovative, high-quality research and IT solutions that drive sustainable socio-economic development, while building long-term partnerships and maintaining the highest ethical and legal standards.
1. TRANSPARENCY & REPRODUCIBILITY
Folder Structure or File Management: Uniform folder structures for data management including encryption to maintain data security.
Data Processing Using Codes: Develop codes to process cleaned datasets from raw datasets which are reproducible by using software like Stata, R, Python and many more. All the codes are replicable and well-preserved.
Ethical Standards: Design research according to the ethical standards documented by globally accepted authorities and watch-tanks on the protection of human subjects involved in research.
Automation: Make monitoring activities automated and build automated reports to check data health. The process of automation can be produced over different analytical platforms or software packages.
2. DATA PRIVACY & SECURITY
Device Security: Ensure device security at ground level through password protection. Data collection devices are connected with individual corporate SIM cards for Internet and Voice Call access. The data collection application is password-protected and uses secured storage.
Data Encryption: Utilize data encryption system to ensure data safety using an encrypted server, encrypted data transfer and encrypted storage.
Processing PII Data: Confirm the anonymity of human subjects by encrypting personally identifiable information (PII). After data processing, PII data are split and stored separately to safeguard privacy.
Data Back-Up and Storage: Create encrypted data back-up in multiple locations or servers to minimize data loss threats. Server and folder access are maintained properly where all authorized persons are bound under NDAs.
3. HIGH-FREQUENCY CHECKS
Monitoring Survey Progress: Monitor survey progress over different respondent clusters or enumeration areas through real-time or offline dashboards, as applicable.
Data Error Checking: Generate an automated system for error detection to track outliers, missing variables, suspicious inputs, data validity checks, meta-data checks such as timestamp data, survey duration, check of survey protocols etc.
Monitoring Team Performance: Generate enumerator and team performance reports through HFC, backcheck data and audio monitoring.
4. SPOT CHECK & BACKCHECK
Field Monitoring: Evaluate field activities by both, scheduled and unanticipated visits in all enumeration areas proportionately by different monitoring teams.
Multiple Layers of Monitoring: RAS, FMs, Monitoring Officers and Supervisors conduct field monitoring by using different tracking/evaluation tools.
Cross-Checking With Back-Check Data: Backchecking a random sub-sample by a different team in all enumeration areas proportionately can detect systematic error or data fabrication.
5. AUDIO MONITORING
Questions Reading and Probing: Record a random portion of surveys to check how the questions are asked, whether probed appropriately and whether the question-asking protocols are maintained.
Data Fabrication: Investigating whether enumerators or field teams are not skipping any questions and asking questions diligently.
Response Coding Correctness: Check if the enumerators enter responses correctly according to the respondents’ replies.
Enumerators’ Performance Report: Generate enumerators’ performance reports regularly to detect errors and low-performing enumerators and conduct debrief sessions.
