We propose a computer-assisted approach to studying the effective continuum behavior of spatially discrete evolution equations. The advantage of the approach is that the "coarse model" (the continuum, effective equation) need not be explicitly constructed. The method only uses a time-integration code for the discrete problem and judicious choices of initial data and integration times; our bifurcation computations are based on the so-called Recursive Projection Method (RPM) with arc-length continuation [Shroff & Keller, 1993]. The technique is used to monitor features of the genuinely discrete problem such as the pinning of coherent structures and its results are compared to quasi-continuum approaches such as the ones based on Pade approximations.