POL 3039:
Undergraduate
Dissertation
Workshop 2: Answering your
research question
Dr Natalie Langford
TODAY’S WORKSHOP
1. Refined research questions: class
discussion
2. Answering your research question
3. The dissertation proposal: linking
the research question to your
approach to research
STRUCTURE OF MODULE
Workshop 1: Choosing a research question
Workshop 2: Answering your research question
Workshop 3: Writing a research proposal
Workshop 4: Approaches to research and ethics
Workshop 5: Writing a literature review
Assessment:
Research Proposal (1000 words)- worth 15% of this module. Due: 12.00pm 3rd November 2022
Dissertation (8000 words)- worth 85% of this module. Due: 12.00pm 9th May 2023
KEY DATES THIS SEMESTER (September 2022- December 2022)
• 16th October 2022- submit google form stipulating your research topic and
research question
• 3RD November 2022- Submit research proposal
KEY DATES NEXT SEMESTER (January 2023- onwards)
• 31st March 2023- Deadline for submitting draft material to supervisors
• 9th May 2023- Final submission of dissertation for examination
ADD ALL DATES TO YOUR DIARIES NOW!!!! The module handbook has
further details on deadlines.
Dissertation proposal: What were you asked to do
for this week?
• Download the template for your dissertation proposal and
save the file in an easy to find folder! Open this document
now!
• Refine your research question based on the class exercises
we undertook in Workshop 1
• Fill in the Google form detailing your research interests.
Deadline is 16th October 2022.
WHAT YOU WERE ASKED TO DO…
1. Refine your research question
ü Applied the ‘good question’ test and asked a fellow student to give
‘critical’ feedback
ü Googled the subject to find initial sources which help you get ‘specific’
ü Searched through Google Scholar and the Sheffield library to find
academic resources (often book chapters by academics can be good to
read)
ü Located a debate or ‘research problem’ in relation to your topic
ü Decided what is the best framing for your research question- ‘How’,
‘why’, ‘To what extent’
ü Return to the ‘good question’ test. Are you satisfied?
Quick Quiz
Are you happy/confident with your
chosen research question?
Click here to participate
Today’s steps
• Please open your version of the research
proposal template
• Ensure that your refined research question is
written under Section 1: Introduction
THE DISSERTATION PROPOSAL
On the template- you can see the following sections:
1. Introduction – [What is the focus and research question?]
2. Literature Review- [What have people written on the topic? Key
themes or ‘debates’]
3. Research Design [How you answered your research question]
4. Research Rationale [Why you have chosen the research design (3)
that you have?]
5. Significance of Research [Why do you think this topic is
interesting/important?]
6. Bibliography
Today’s focus:
Linking Sections
1 and 3
What are you doing this week?
1. Place your research question in front of you
2. Ask yourself how you are going to answer it? (Can you find
the sort of information you need? What sort of data will you use? What
are you going to do if you can’t find the information?)
3. Write a draft of Section 3 ‘research design’ based on your
answers to Step 2
But first, let’s do some peer reviews of the
research questions posted this week….
CLASS ACTIVITY I: HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THE RESEARCH
QUESTION?
1. Please log on to the this week’s padlet and look at student’s refined questions
2. In small groups (3-4) choose one of the research questions
Does the question still need focusing?
How would you narrow the focus?
What sources of information might you need?
FEEDBACK TO THE CLASS!!!
THE DISSERTATION PROPOSAL
On the template- you can see the following sections:
1. Introduction – [What is the focus and research question?]
2. Literature Review- [What have people written on the topic? Key
themes or ‘debates’]
3. Research Design [How you answered your research question]
4. Research Rationale [Why you have chosen the research design (3)
that you have?]
5. Significance of Research [Why do you think this topic is
interesting/important?]
6. Bibliography
Today’s focus:
Linking Sections
1 and 3
Research Design (Section 3)- write this down in your
working document (i.e. the template)
• Brief outline of approach
This dissertation uses a [case study/critical review of relevant literature/narrative analysis etc] to answer the
question ‘…’ [insert your research question]. One line of justification on using this approach [so, for example,
look for an academic reference to the case study approach if that’s what you’re using]
• Data collection
Data will be gathered using a desk-based review of relevant secondary sources. Online searches using reputable
search engines- including [insert search engines- such as Google Scholar; STARPLUS etc]. Secondary sources
will include [list types of secondary data- such as NGO reports, policy documents etc- and list actual names of
documents that will be used]. Data was selected based on [relevance to study; according to a particular time
frame perhaps for your research; perhaps limited to a particular event etc.]
• Data analysis [we will get to this next week]
Research Design: 3.1 Outlining the ‘approach’
• Majority of you will be doing ‘desk-based analysis’- but it is worth outlining an approach. There are many
options!
• Case study or comparative case study – this allows a focused ‘real life’ example(s) to ground your
research question (eg. comparing fiscal responses to the 2008 global financial crisis between the US and UK government
and their impact on society )
• Content analysis – this could involve ‘narrative’ or ‘textual’ analysis of documents in order to understand
how organisations/actors frame particular issues or problems (Eg. politics of representation- for example the
‘migrant crisis’ in EU)
• Use of theories/concepts/frameworks- using concepts through which you can assess information/data
concerning your research question (Eg. To what extent can the concept of securitization help to shed light on post-
Brexit immigration policies?)
• Take 5 minutes NOW to think about what your research implies in terms of the research approach
DESK-BASED RESEARCH MEANS USING SECONDARY DATA
Research Design: For those students who may be considering a different
format…
• Students who are doing a dissertation that they consider to be political theory- please see
resources on blackboard and consider meeting with Prof Alasdair Cochrane of Dr Ed Hall in
their office hours
• Students who are undertaking quantitative analysis – please speak to Prof Charles Pattie or
Dr Athanassios Roussias
EXPECTATIONS OF RESEARCH
‘A dissertation provides a student with an opportunity to develop intellectual
independence and to specialise in depth in a topic of interest. Especially in the
humanities and social sciences, you will mostly be using secondary sources; that is,
the existing scholarship published in journals, books etc. You will then develop your
own critical analysis of these materials and their contribution to your research topic’
(University of Nottingham, 2018)
BREAK TIME!
SECONDARY VERSUS PRIMARY DATA/SOURCES
• Secondary data
Data that has already been gathered by someone else for some purpose (academic
journal articles, book chapters, reports, policy briefs). These make reference to, and
analyse, primary sources.
• Primary data
Data that is collected by you, the researcher. Data can include interviews, survey
data and ethnographic methods. It is subject to ethical approval by the University
of Sheffield. Failure to gain ethical approval will result in failure of the degree
programme.
WHY THE USE OF SECONDARY SOURCES IS
RECOMMENDED
• Secondary data is already accessible and available
• There is a huge amount of secondary data out there- tailor your research question to make the
most of it
• Interviews and surveys are often unnecessary in order to answer your question
• Primary data collection requires ethical approval- this is essential
• Learning how to do interviews, conduct surveys and analyse this data is a long and arduous
process- do you have time to do it well, and finish in the short period you have?
SOME OF THE METHODS ‘LINGO’ AND WHAT TO
AVOID
Methods textbooks are great tools- but there are some confusing terms and discussions which you
should be wary of involving yourself in:
• ‘Qualitative’ vs ‘quantitative’ approach
• ‘Positivist’ vs ‘interpretivist’ approach
Do not get bogged down in this- but instead follow my formula for the research
proposal!!!!
Research design:
brief outline of approach
data collection
data analysis
Some pointers on Section 3: ‘Research approach’
• Strongly advise you to focus on secondary data collection (as opposed to
primary data collection)
• Don’t let methods chapters confuse you- we DON’T WANT an
extended discussion on ‘qualitative versus quantitative’ and on
‘interpretivist versus positivist’ approaches!
• What we DO WANT to see under (3) research design: What
information/sources will you use? How will you find and select the data?
How do you plan to analyse the data?
CLASS ACTIVITY II: HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THE RESEARCH
QUESTION?
1. In pairs, share YOUR research questions with one another:
Does your partners question still need focusing?
What sort of information do they need to gather in relation to what specific
issues/topics?
What approach to research might they take (comparative or single case
study, content analysis, critical review of literature, quantitative approach?)
FEEDBACK TO THE CLASS!!!
SOME STUDENT TOPICS I CHOSE:
• To what extent could British trade unions benefit from ‘economic nationalism’
associated with Brexit?
• In what ways has neoliberal capitalism impacted socio-economic development
in Timor-Leste?
• How have left wing attitudes towards the EU changed in Britain and should the
left support EU membership or not?
SOME STUDENT TOPICS I CHOSE:
• To what extent could British trade unions benefit from ‘economic nationalism’ associated with Brexit?
Research design:
What approach(es) to research design fit this question?
• Case study approach- focused on trade unions who were in favour of Brexit? Why were they pro-Brexit? OR a
cross-sectoral approach
• Case study - contradictions of the EU as a regulator of worker rights but promoter of private sector interests –
what benefits for workers due to leaving?
• Focus on historical examples of trade unions and economic nationalism- to what extent have they benefited in
historical context (perhaps import tariffs and wages) and what might this mean for the UK now?
Needs clarification: (a) Is the focus on economic nationalism or Brexit? (aren’t necessarily the same thing!) (b) the
question is set in the future tense. This implies you might need to ground your study in previous examples of
economic nationalism
SOME STUDENT TOPICS I CHOSE:
• In what ways has neoliberal capitalism impacted socio-economic development in
Timor-Leste?
Research design:
What approach(es) to research design fit this question?
• Case study is the obvious one- Timor Leste is even mentioned in the title!
• So, therefore under Section 3 of the proposal: you need to tell the reader why Timor Leste has been chosen
• Case study will be focused on the collection and analyse of secondary sources focused on the impact of
neoliberal (policies?) in relation to Timor Leste
Quick question: How can you focus the question? Was there a particular event (such as the economic opening up
of the country? Or a particular aspect of neoliberal capitalism?
SOME STUDENT TOPICS I CHOSE:
• How have left wing attitudes towards the EU changed in Britain and should the left support EU
membership or not?
Research design:
What approach(es) to research design fit this question?
• Case study approach- focus is on the EU and whether the EU is compatible with ‘leftist’ politics as understood
within the British context
• Could be an opportunity to discuss the ‘communitarian’ versus ‘cosmopolitan’ left in the literature review (see
recent paper by Dr Owen Parker)
• Similar questions raised to the first example of trade unions and Brexit
Some thoughts: need to define ‘the left’ in UK context; part of the research question could be put into the context
section
What are you doing to prepare for next week?
1. Place your research question in front of you (in the
research proposal document)
2. Ask yourself how you are going to answer it? (Can you find
the sort of information you need? What sort of data will you use? What
are you going to do if you can’t find the information?)
3. Write a draft of Section 3 ‘research design’ based on your
answers to Step 2
HOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION IS A ‘GOOD’ ONE!
Good questions are:
• Clear. They are unambiguous and easily understood.
• Specific. They are sufficiently specific for it be clear what constitutes an answer.
• Answerable. We can see what data are needed to answer them and how those data will be collected.
• Interconnected. The (sub) questions are related in some meaningful way, forming a coherent whole
(Robson and McCartan, 2002: 59)