I am doing my research on the role of geographical contexts on social capital and political participation among young people. I want to explore how living in a deprived/prosperous area shape youth's social networks and participation in politics.
my supervisor asked me to compare two geographical areas, where I use survey asking the youth from both areas about their social networks and if these help them participate in politics. I am struggling to find relevant geographical contexts. I selected two different areas from York, but as my supervisor York is relatively a wealthy area. I was thinking about London or Manchester as they have more diversity including social and economic conditions but still do not know what to choose should I select two areas from London or Manchester or I should select areas from different cities and so you think two cases are enough for this study and do you think do a survey for 40 people in each area is enough. Is it possible I analyse my survey's data quantitatively?
Politics is a game of number. Calculation based on gender, class and regions will be of help in politics.
I'm quite sure there's enough poverty in York than you'll need for your project! You need to decide if you're comparison will be of highly diverse areas: York v. South London (East London?). Or prosperous York v blighted York. And that depends on what it is you're trying to achieve. More thought needed, I'd say!
Christopher NOCK
I guess that what I'm trying to say is that you need to choose what to compare AFTER you've clarified precisely why you want to compare anything at all.
Start with "what exactly am I seeing to find out here? Why?" Only then should you move on to "what is it best to complete, to find out what it is that I'm interested in?"
NOCK
From your above description, the nature of your research is comparative study. You will analyse social capital [empowered citizens] and political participation [politically active citizens] among youths from selected two areas/contexts where one area would evidence higher standard of living and the other area/context show lower standard of living to measure social capital [ looking at literacy and poverty level indices ]; and the level of registered voters, voters that voted during recent elections, youths that contested for elective positions, as well as percentage of youths that demand for accountable governance to measure political participation. The use of credible secondary data source would facilitate your research. For instance, consult the UNDP, The World Bank or Government [Burea of Statistics] reports on Human Development Index, Poverty Index for data collection on social capital; and consult the Electoral Commission Offices to collect information on registered voters, percentage of youths that actually voted as well as consult the Information Ministry or Office/ Public Affairs Office to get knowledge of youth participation in governance processes [ issues raised by youths ] in your pilot research areas.
I wish you success!
As an elections administrator in Georgia, geography matters in terms of youth political participation. I have worked in three different political jurisdictions as an a manager an CONTEXT is so important.
Thanks @Willie Green III. That sounds good. Might you fill it out a little? What actually is "context" in this case? And why is so important?
NOCK
You might contact the Rowntree Foundation to clarify the poverty situation in York itself.
NOCK
An interesting and motivating research question: how geographical contexts matter to political participation?. Based on the useful answers set above, I would suggest to focus on the aspects already established:
. Role of geographical contexts on: social capital and political participation of young people.
You have been asked to compare two geographical areas for this purpose.
First of all we need to find out key issues (functions, interrelations, social networks, priorities, etc) which arise from any geographical context (social-economical-political-geographical/environmental space where people live), and have a direct relation in political participation of young people (also is needed to set for example who are to be considered young, range of age, income, etc).
Once done this, on the basis of selected variables and indicators (extracted from the previous analysis), we can have a more precise idea of what to ask or to search for.
Finally with this clearer framework, it will be easier to find out specific characteristics of two geographical areas suitable for comparison. An approach could be to compare two different geographical contexts, but also we may compare two similar geographical contexts. The findings can be different but quite relevant for the core research question.
The research design/methodology should be guided by the objectives of the research that should be linked to the hypotheses and research questions. Quantitative [data analysis] and Qualitative [descriptive analysis] combination would enhance the research output.
An interesting area to choose for your study would be Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire, adjacent regions which have been in the press for having such vastly differing average life expectancy due to their relative levels of wealth and poverty.
It would be interesting to see if there are significant political participation disparities between rural and urban areas
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