Scenarios as a scholarly methodology to produce "interesting research"(Article)(Open Access)
- aSaïd Business School and Green-Templeton College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- bOxford Institute of Retail Management, Said Business School, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- cInternational Migration Institute, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- d100 Resilient Cities (Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation), Mexico
- eIthaca Environmental, Mexico
Abstract
Recent debates identified the insufficient production of "interesting research", namely research that is innovative and develops theory while being both usable and rigorous. We propose that scenarios methodology as a scholarly form of inquiry is one way in which we can generate "interesting research". We present and compare how this methodology was used to investigate three research studies: (i) the unfolding of retailing formats in India; (ii) the evolution of migration patterns in Europe and the Mediterranean; and (iii) climate change and regional and urban planning in the Tulum region of the Peninsula of Yucatán. We found that when scenarios are used as a scholarly methodology involving iterations and revisions, they help to challenge existing assumptions, identify novel lines of inquiry, and enable new research opportunities to emerge,-thus opening up a research mode that helps engaged scholars to make sense of and address complex and uncertain contexts and produce interesting findings. © 2015 Z.
Indexed keywords
| GEOBASE Subject Index: | climate changemethodologyregional planningresearch workurban planning |
|---|---|
| Regional Index: | EuropeIndiaMediterranean RegionYucatan Peninsula |
Funding details
| Funding sponsor | Funding number | Acronym |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing See opportunities | ||
| United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization See opportunities by UNESCO | UNESCO | |
| United Nations Development Programme | UNDP | |
| Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología | CONACYT | |
| Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford | ||
| Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken |
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1
Funding for the migration research benefited from support (no conditions attached) from Boeing’s Global Corporate Citizenship Program ; the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office ; the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs ; the Danish Refugee Council ; the University of Waikato ; the New Zealand Department of Business, Innovation, and Employment ; Australia Department of Immigration and Citizenship ; the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO ; the Foundation ‘The Hague Process on Refugees and Migration’ ; and the Oxford Martin School . Funding for the Mexican study was supported by National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) and a Chevening Scholarship, UNDP and INECC supported the development of the workshop. Thanks also to the Editor and two anonymous reviewers of Futures for their helpful comments in revising the paper.
- ISSN: 00163287
- Source Type: Journal
- Original language: English
- DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2015.06.006
- Document Type: Article
- Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Ramirez, R.; Saïd Business School and Green-Templeton College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
© Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
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