“Influence of citizen participation in the local government decision-making process on public service delivery (access and quality): some evidence from the UK experience”

Module Assessment
This module is assessed through a 3,000-word report outlining the methodology that you plan to use in your own research project. In particular, it should do the following:
• state your research question;
• discuss the pros and cons of several possible methodologies for addressing this question, including (but not necessarily restricted to) methodologies covered in this module;
• outline and explain your chosen methodological approach (which might be to focus on one method or to combine insights from several);
• discuss any hurdles you might face in applying your chosen methodology and indicate how you expect to deal with them.
You should normally show knowledge of at least two methods covered in the course of the module. You are also welcome to draw on methods that are not covered. You should cite both the relevant methodological literatures and literature relevant to your particular research question.
In the past, some students have failed in this assignment for one of two main reasons:
1. some have treated the assignment too abstractly, showing knowledge of the general methods, but not showing that they have thought adequately about how those methods could be applied to their particular project or what difficulties might arise when trying to do so;
2. others have been too narrow, outlining what they plan to do in concrete terms, without showing that they have learnt from the general methodological literature about how to do this well or what pitfalls might arise.
It is this important to avoid these twin dangers by combining the general and the specific in your methodology report.

Students are expected to identify the most appropriate methods for their project and also critically evaluate alternative methods. For example, they are perfectly free to argue that reflexivity or critical discourse analysis offer the most appropriate methods, as long as they defend that view and discuss why alternative methods are inappropriate.