Brianna
Very interesting example! I agree about the importance of qualitative approaches given the current inadequate understanding of the ways this might affect people's health.
But let's focus on the quantitative piece: how could you evaluate the effects on any outcome, let's say for example re-arrest rates? Who will you try to enroll in your cohort? How could you access this population? Is there a setting where Ban the Box has been implemented and a comparison community where the Box stands? If so, where and how could you enroll people from both (or multiple such) communities? Are the places w Box vs Banned Box otherwise comparable, or might there be other features of such places that influence the outcomes of formerly incarcerated individuals?
I think it is actually hard to know the consequences of this policy, and so it is important to evaluate it. Are there potential adverse consequences you would want to evaluate?
Maria