Research Design Worksheet: A Three-Tiered Question Framework for Mixing Discourse Analysis and Ethnographic Fieldwork

This research design worksheet accompanies Chapter 3, "How to Mix Discourse Analysis and Ethnographic Fieldwork Methods: Studying Energy Transition Politics and Governance," in How to mix methods and disciplines for sustainability research (eds. Julia Leventon and Chris Foulds). It provides a three-tiered question framework — broad research questions, analytical questions, and operational questions — to guide researchers in designing projects that combine discourse analysis and ethnographic fieldwork. The worksheet is grounded in an interpretive-critical, constructivist approach to discursive politics and is illustrated with examples drawn from comparative research on oil-dependent communities.