In this episode, Alejandro is joined by Dr. Sara Dada, global health researcher, newly appointed Ad Astra Fellow at University College Dublin, and the mind behind a truly ambitious realist PhD. Sara walks us through what it means to build an entire doctoral thesis around realist principles: from developing initial programme theories, to conducting a realist review and realist evaluation in Zambia, to zooming out and constructing middle-range theories that speak to global health more broadly. She reflects candidly on the challenges and breakthroughs of realist work — including the messy, iterative nature of theory-building, the complexity of real-world contexts, and the importance of embracing imperfection as part of the learning journey.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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