Consumer Finance Research Methods Toolkit

This how-to, hands-on guide examines the research methods that have been used successfully to understand people’s money worlds. It spotlights ethical and consumer protection issues and offers case studies and examples of successful research and dissemination to show how to turn insight into impact. The toolkit demonstrates how different methods are being applied in consumer finance research, across both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. It is designed to help researchers and managers to:

• Learn about innovations taking place in consumer finance research;
• Broaden their knowledge of the strengths and limitations of different methods for understanding financial behavior;
• Facilitate connections between researchers and organizations who have complementary expertise.

Just as consumers have an ever-increasing choice of financial products, researchers have an ever-increasing array of methods at their disposal. This toolkit provides readers with inspiration for ways they can develop their research, either by themselves or in collaboration with others. Readers can choose to learn about applications that are related to their own expertise, or discover entirely new methods and the professionals who develop them.