”Doing my own research at a research institution with a research grant explicitly intended for me to use to do research”
Counts?
Discussion
It *can* be true, but my experience has generally been the opposite. Institutional credentials are usually an anti-signal of quality in the humanities and in mainstream media. (This is also becoming the case in STEM fields at a worrying pace.)
I've seen far better scholarship from people who have been sidelined from the spotlight.
Example of better scholarship from someone who has been sidelined?
Here you go: https://michael-hudson.com/
Here's a great video of Michael Hudson explaining his thesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-pCed-mPVw&ab_channel=%E5%9B%BD%E4%BB%81%E5%85%A8%E7%90%83%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%A6%E5%A0%82