Research Methods
As well as discipline-specific research methods training that may be provided at School level, the GS DRDP offers a range of research methods workshops.
ETHNOGRAPHY AS A RESEARCH METHOD
21st February 2024
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In this specially curated workshop for the GS, Professor of Digital Anthropology Miriyam Aouragh introduces Ethnography with a special focus on the changing infrastructural realities. Ethnography has itself gone through different stages, but whether as classical anthropology or digital anthropology, the key pillars remain fieldwork, participant observation and in-depth interviews. How best to explore digital communities, online prosumers, internet activist, citizen journalists, visual archives, transnational art collectives or architectural virtual sites dealers within their wider context?
A basic principle for social scientists is to study social phenomena or events through a holistic approach. But what does this mean, and how best to do it in a non-reductive and a critical way? One crucial condition is to understand our research audiences and interlocutors as part and parcel of the cultures around them. Another key feature is challenging binary or culturalist thinking as it allows us to grasp the differences and similarities between cultures and communities. In other words, Ethnography is a research approach to learn first-hand about the behavior, interactions, dreams and dilemmas of collectives. Ethnographers immerse themselves in a social environment and observe the kind of unseen, authentic or spontaneous dynamics that we do not get from a survey or data analysis.
In this workshop we explore how Ethnography helps us understand the way people interact with the world around them; what the main tools of Ethnography are; how to consider Ethnography through intersectional lenses.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS, PART 1
7th May 2024
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This course is designed to give a theoretically informed, hands-on introduction to the doing of reflexive thematic analysis, the approach developed by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke. The workshop combines a range of pedagogical styles and activities, from mini-lectures through classroom discussion, small-group and individual- class-time activity, and homework.
At the end of the session, you will have a deep understanding of the potential (and limitations) of (reflexive) thematic analysis, important design considerations, and a good grasp of what doing reflexive thematic analysis looks like in practice. Due to the nature of qualitative analysis, not every aspect will be covered in depth, you will gain foundational skills related to coding and starting theme development that set you on the path for doing rigorous analysis that is both theoretically and methodologically coherent.
Workshop schedule
Day 1: Understanding and getting started with TA
Focuses on:
· Introducing and locating thematic analysis
· Exploring and understanding key differences across TA methods
· Ethics, reflexivity and positioning yourself; subjectivity
· Data for TA
· Starting to do reflexive TA
o Familiarisation
o Initial coding
Take-home activity
· Coding development
THEMATIC ANALYSIS, PART 2
8th May 2024
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Workshop schedule
Day 2: Getting into analysis
Focuses on:
· Reviewing and developing coding
· Coding rigour and quality
· (Initial) theme generation (and theme development)
· Writing, rigour and quality in TA
AN INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
This workshop will run once in each semester, so you can choose which date you would like to attend by using the relevant booking link.
21st May 2024, Parts 1 and 2
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In this one day course (with Part 1 in the morning and Part 2 in the afternoon), students will be introduced to both the basics and new thinking in qualitative research. The course is suitable for the beginner and those looking to refresh their knowledge.
Part 1 – Building a project
defining your objective
developing a sample
writing a screener
devising a methodology
writing a discussion guide
PART 2 – Delivering a project
focus group best practice
behavioural economics and the focus group
projective techniques
effective reporting
ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT AND LIAISON PROVISION
Recorded sessions:
Library Guide for doctoral researchers
Introduction to Mendeley Reference Management Software
*The GS also offers access to a series of 3 NVIVO workshops for those who need more detailed training and support. Places are limited and the application process will be announced shortly.
Workshops:
These run twice in the academic year, so you can attend the one you prefer, using the relevant booking link.
An Introduction to Refworks Reference Management Software
3rd November 2023
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OR
7th February 2024
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By the end of this workshop, you will know how to:
• Create a RefWorks account
• Import references into RefWorks from a variety of sources
•Use RefWorks to create a bibliography in your preferred referencing style
•Use the RefWorks Write-n-Cite plugin to create references within a word processing programme
•Know the advantages and disadvantages of using RefWorks as a reference management tool
Digital Tools to help you with your Research
9th February 2024, 11am – 12pm
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There are many useful digital tools that you could be utilising to help with your research process. This session will explore these tools, some provided by the University, some freely available. Bring your laptop along if you wish to try these out during the session.
This session will cover:
- multimedia/accessibility functions in databases
- Useful browser extensions
- Microsoft Office shortcuts
- GrammarlyGo (GenAi) – ideas from a non-expert.
An Introduction to Zotero Reference Management Software
Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. In this session we will introduce you to Zotero and it’s functionality.
14th November 2023
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OR
9th February 2024, 1pm – 2:30pm
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RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT
Recorded presentation:
Link to Panopto recording
Transcript_Introduction to Research Data Management
Workshop: Organising your research data and materials
27th February 2024
Book your place here
Do you have a plan for how will you curate and store all of the research materials and research data you will create during the course of your doctoral project? Do you have a plan to digitise or catalogue all of the physical artefacts you may create? Would you know what to do if a journal’s editor asked you to publish your research data alongside an article you’ve written? Would you know what a ‘data management plan’ is, if you are asked to write one as part of a future funding application?
This session provides an introduction for doctoral researchers to managing their research data: how to keep your materials and data well-organised and documented, so that it is easy for you to find the files you need, and so that it is easier to share your research data materials with other researchers and the public. After setting ‘research data management’ in the context of the wider field of ‘open research’ in academia, the session will cover some research data management basics, such as using file naming conventions and folder structures to organise your digital data. We will then take a look at two key scenarios you will encounter in your future career as a researcher, where you will need good research data management knowledge: publishing your data alongside a journal article, and writing a ‘data management plan’ as part of a funding application.
QUANTITATIVE METHODS TRAINING
Applications for semester 2 have now closed. Applications will open again in Autumn 2024.
Stats Workshops 23-24 Application Form
Please submit your application form to:
The following two workshops build on one another, guiding you through the process of designing an empirical study and analysing the findings with basic statistics as well as more advanced statistics. Doctoral researchers need to make an application for attendance on these workshops.
Workshop 1 – Design of Empirical Research Studies with Human Participants
13th February 2024
This workshop aims to give a broad overview of designing empirical research studies with human participants, covering research questions, sampling and required sample size (power analysis), choice of variables and measurement techniques, as well as design of experimental and correlational studies. It also provides a theoretical basis for techniques which may be practised during practical exercises.
- Introduction to the design of empirical research studies: experimental and correlational studies; experimental controls; selection and recruitment of subjects; piloting; ethical considerations
- Measurement through observation of behaviour: direct and indirect observation; recording techniques; measurement of behaviour; activity sampling
- Measurement through questionnaires and interviews: ranking methods, rating scales, application in interviews and questionnaires
- Good practice in research methods – an overview: ethics, avoiding questionable research practices, open science, preregistration
Workshop 2 – The Basics of Statistical Analysis
16th February 2024
This workshop aims to provide an introduction to basic methods used to analyse data from empirical studies with human participants, describing the key features of the data in a study with scientific language. It explains how to compute descriptive statistics and create graphs to visualise quantitative data as well as how to test hypotheses, covering the most commonly used types of inferential statistics and their assumptions. This workshop will be run with the software package SPSS. This workshop will be run in a modular fashion, where some of those aspects shown in parentheses will be covered, depending on PhD students’ needs and wishes in this teaching year.
- Descriptive statistics
- Types of data and data management
- Distributions, esp. normal distribution
- Central Tendency and Variability
- Measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode)
- Measures of variability (range, variance, and standard deviation)
- The importance of variability
- (Tables and graphs)
- Testing Hypotheses
- Probability
- Null and Alternative Hypothesis
- Sampling distribution and statistical decision making
- Statistical significance and confidence intervals
- Inferential statistics
- (Non-parametric tests)
- (Chi Square)
- t-test, ANOVA (ANCOVA, MANOVA)
- Correlation and Multiple Linear Regression
RESEARCH METHODS MODULES AT MASTERS LEVEL
Doctoral research can sometimes mean that you will need some training in new research methods. The university runs a large number of research methods modules across its many masters programmes and it may be that joining some or all of the seminars of one of these modules will be useful to you. If you think that sitting in on one of these would be useful for your research, please discuss it with your Director of Studies. If you decide together that it would be helpful, then you should contact the Module Leader to ask if they would be happy for you to sit in on the class.
You can find the lists of research methods modules on the link below: