IS830_Week SIX_2024

IS830Dr Nazanin Shahrokni

Week SIX, February 2024

Research Design & Concept Formation

Writing Up & Presenting Your Research

Methods of Data Collection

Research Alignment & Formulating Research Questions

Politics & Ethics of Producing Research

At A glance

Class Activity: Working with Concepts

Class Activity: Mapping Your Research

Next Steps

On Concepts & Conceptualization

Research Design: A Process

Research alignment is the logical progression of ideas between the structural elements of your research project.

Writing Up

Data Analysis

Data Collection

Research Design

Research Question(s)

Literature Review

Theme and Topic

Real world problem? How relevant is this? Would an non-academic care? Could it be translated into polices?

Filling a gap? What do we don't know? How main contributions about this differ? What are the strong/wrong assumptions in previous works? What scale of analysis is missing from these works?

What’s the puzzle? Are there contradictory findings? Is an outcome unexplained? Is an outcome unexpected?

Finding a Good Research Question

CREATIVITY (Is this question of interest to you or is it imposed? What twists can you add to it? How can you make it your own?

USEFULNESS (Why do we need to know the answer? So what?)

FEASIBILITY (Can you answer this question?)

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Features of a Good Research Question

CLARITY(Is the question ambiguous?)

COMPLEXITY(Is the answer obvious? Are there multiple dimensions to the question?

FOCUS(Does it aim at what you want to know?)

Prepare your elevator pitch in 5 steps: 1) State the problem area 2) State your questions 3) Describe your case 4) Introduce your method of analysis 5) Answer the "so what?" question

Write down - Your statement of purpose (what is the problem/issue you are trying to address?) - Your research questions (Within the problem area you have defined what question(s) do you want to address?) - Data collection methods (what kinds of data do you need to address your questions?)

Class Activity

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Mapping/Visualizing Your Research

Research Design (research subquestions, methods of data collection & analysis, writing plan)

Research Question(s)

Theme

Let's visualize (create a plan for) our research...

You can write an amazing title

Inclusivesegregation regime

Exclusive segregation regime

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2000s

1980s

You can write an amazing title

Concept formation and operationalization are ongoing multi-stage, multi-layered processes processes.

THEORETICAL UTILITY

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FIELD UTILITY

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COHERENCE

DEPTH

DIFFERENTIATION

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Features of a Good Concept

FAMILIARITY

PARSIMONY

RESONANCE

Patriarchal Accommodation

Accommodating Protest

Patriarchal Bargain

New Concept: Patriarchal AccommodationWe find that in both Iran and Mexico, women gained mobility through the very policies that appeared to confine or exclude them. We call these policies “patriarchal accommodations.” They were patriarchal, because they enshrined formal gender difference associated with male dominance. They were accommodations, because they adapted existing standards of “appropriate” masculinity and femininity to global economic pressure, enabling women to work, study, and consume.

The Puzzle: This paper begins from a paradox. In the 1980s and 1990s, women became increasingly mobile, especially in the developing world. Scholars generally attribute this shift to global economic pressure or to the spread of (Western) gender egalitarianism. Yet, in some places, women gained mobility just as local institutions extended policies excluding them or segregating them from men.

Concept Formation: An ExampleAndrews and Shahrokni (2014)

- Offer a clear definition - Identify key dimensions - Identify concept family - Identify rival/alternative concepts - Evaluate the concept

Class Activity

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GLOBAL CARE CHAIN (Tanaya & Amanda)

SECURITY COMMUNITY (Elif & Laila)

RACIAL CAPITALISM (Tanjila & Daphne)

HOMONATIONALISM(Matthew & Pooja)

Let's discuss concept formation...

You can write an amazing title

Remember that research is a process. It is not a linear process and you need to be prepared to continuously realign your research components.

Don't compare your work-in-progress with other people's published work.

Don't compare your insides with other people's outsides!

Don't get into a conversation without knowing what you want out of it.

Discomfort could be productive. Be comfortable with it!

If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be research.

Remember

and yes of course.... Happy Valentine's Day!

GOOD LUCK!