Methodological Issues

What is research? What is your research and very importantly.....

How is it distinguished from other pursuits and questioning processes such as campaigns, publicity, marketing or opinion?

By the very nature of this module your research is a form of "action enquiry". It is a single or series of 'actions' undertaken by you that will form a solid piece of research data. By that we mean that it is (a) practitioner based an (b) evaluative for improving actions.
However, the precise form of 'enquiry" needs to be outlined and justified.

Methodology describes the overarching way of creating a form of knowledge which we might trust. The main methodological groups are :

• "scientific/positivist",
• naturalistic, illuminative or qualitative
• action research
• evaluation as research

(These are not exhaustive  and types may overlap) please explore these yourself using either google or prescribed text

A discussion of methodology is not the same as the outline of the procedures (sometimes called methods) that you use to collect data. Rather, it deals with issues such as:

• The kind of knowledge that will be created and its purpose
• The methodology that best fits the context and scale of your research
• The control you have over variables in this research
• The extent  you can generalise knowledge gained from this research to other cases.
• The tests you will use for truthfulness, reliability and validity.
• The involvement and relationships between researcher and subject(s)
  
• The treatment of socially constructed ideas in your research

Your  account should explain both the methodology  (about 1000 words) and procedures (or methods) (another 1000 words) .

In these sections you should show the following MA level descriptors.

• a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to your own research or advanced scholarship;
• a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline
  
• evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them

Materials to support you are in the research folder here - Research  Materials. Indeed, the materials here contain the headings and some of the text to build your own specific account. Supplement this with your own references.

What we want you to discuss and consider

 What are the characteristics of (your) research methodology and how does it affect your analysis?