Research methodology essay

This assessment requires students to write short responses to four questions based on the literature review. The questions are as follows:
1. What is the current and most concise iteration of the research question?
This question is meant to prompt you to consider how the question you first proposed has changed in light of further study. I expect that you have altered your views somewhat given the further research you have conducted and in light of the feedback from the first assessment task. Please take this opportunity to sharpen the scope of your enquiry in order to clarify the subsequent points about methodology and significance of the study.
2. What scholarly debates does this question engage?
This question is designed to get you to locate your study within the broader context of scholarly debates in political economy. The exercise here is something I’ve referred to as ‘mapping the topography of your research by identifying interlocutors’. Consider which broad debates your study engages and then specify the locus of your enquiry through clarifying the research gap. An example of the progressions might be: financialisation (meta-debate about what it is/good or bad/ how to move forward) –> Modern Monetary Theory (another very broad but more focused debate about the role of money in the economy) –> Jobs Guarantee or Universal Basic Income? (specific research question that is located within the debates around financialisation as a general phenomenon and then also the mid-tier debates about monetary theory). The point of the exercise is to demonstrate that you are aware of the debates in your field and that your study is a novel contribution.
3. What is the most appropriate methodological approach to political economy for this question and why?
This is probably the most substantive question. You need to nominate one or more methodologies located within the 5 foundational approaches to political economy (Classical; NeoClassical [or Marginalist & Formalist]; Keynesian; Institutionalist; Historical Materialist) that you believe are the most appropriate to address your research question. The task is more about the justification than the methodology itself. An example, to continue on from above, might be something like this: Minsky’s financial instability thesis is best placed to explain the choice, or fallacy of choice, between a JG and UBI as a means to ameliorate the deleterious consequences of financialisation. This is because Minsky’s work draws on the post-Keynesian conceptual apparatus to show that the precondition for investment is actually a subjective category, namely confidence. Therefore, a false choice exists, illuminated by post-Keynesian analysis, that would otherwise be concealed in the prevailing analyses of these policies which derive more from Classical, NeoClassical and Historical Materialist traditions.
You are not being examined on which methodology or mix of methodologies you choose. Many questions could be addressed by all or a mix of a few. The key to this task is how you justify the use of your chosen approach.
4. Why does this study matter?
This question is about tying together all of the above but with a view to why it’s important this research is carried out. Consider the second seminar content where you were asked to reflect on the social signification of your research. What are your motivations for the research and what is it you’re hoping to change about the subject-matter? To finish the example we’ve set up from above you might say something like: the immediate future of all living generations is conditioned by choices about how best to manage the changing nature of work and subsistence. Gaining a clearer understanding of the mechanisms of post-GFC financial systems and the most appropriate policy responses to pre-empt consequences such as high and protracted structural unemployment, displaced populations as a consequence of automation, entrenched and growing economic inequality owing to labour market disintegration is a fundamental imperative for social scientists.
I suggest you use subheadings as per above and simply include your responses just as I have above. You are expected to provide citations where necessary but do not feel the need to be too systematic in referencing the literature. You will have time to do that in the next assessment. A reference list of 5 or so sources will suffice for this task. Happy writing and please do get in touch with any questions.

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