Writing and Researching the Political Economy of Inequality

Program Overview

This free online course, "Writing and Researching the Political Economy of Inequality," is designed for postgraduate students and early career researchers in political economy or related fields. It covers defining and measuring inequality, researching inequality through time, space, and scale, and qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This is a free online short course titled "Writing and Researching the Political Economy of Inequality." It is designed for postgraduate students and early career researchers with some background in (International) Political Economy or related fields. The course aims to enhance both conceptual and practical research skills, building confidence and familiarity with various data collection methods.

Outline:

The course is structured into seven units:

• Unit 1 - Defining and Measuring Inequality: This unit explores how inequality is defined, understood, and measured.
It identifies contemporary patterns in inequality, including areas that are rarely discussed, and encourages critical reflection on research plans, specifically how inequality is defined and measured in individual work.
• Unit 2 - Researching Inequality Through Time, Space and Scale: This unit examines how to identify patterns of inequality from different temporal, spatial, and scalar perspectives, prompting reflection on the use of time, space, and scale in personal research.
• Unit 3 - Setting Research Questions and Reviewing Literature: This unit encourages reflection on the sources of research interests and how these can be developed into statements of aims, objectives, and research questions that frame the work.
• Unit 4 - Locating your Research in Existing Knowledge: This unit guides participants in performing and tracking literature searches using Google Scholar, identifying the differences between types of literature reviews and selecting the most appropriate type for their research.
• Unit 5 - Research Methods I: Qualitative Data Collection: This unit guides participants through the process of qualitative data collection.
It helps identify potential interviewees and create a topic guide for one-to-one or group interviews for use in research projects. Participants will create a risk register for observational data collection techniques and identify the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative data collection methods.
• Unit 6 - Research Methods II: Quantitative Data Collection: This unit explores how to use quantitative data on inequality in research, helping participants identify and select appropriate secondary data sources.
It also explores how to design a questionnaire to gather quantitative data for research projects.
• Unit 7 - Research Dissemination and Impact: This final unit assists participants in disseminating research results by examining how to write for different audiences and exploring various dissemination methods to reach the target audience.

Teaching:

The course is delivered through an easy-to-use online learning platform. It is self-guided, meaning participants can learn at their own pace.

Other:

The course is funded by the British Academy Writing Workshops Programme and developed by Dr Sophia Price and Professor Alexander Nunn.