Interviewing in qualitative research

Interviewing in qualitative research

Facilitator: Dr Maria Fernandes-Jesus RDF Indicator: A1 Programme: PGR Research Skills Programme 2021-22 Theme: Research Methods Taking place in CD/103 Session Overview: Interviews are widely used as a method for data collection in social and human sciences. This session will give you methodological tools to design and conduct qualitative interviews. Learning Outcomes: After participating in this session students should be able to: Describe and identify different interview types and techniques Design an interview guide Outline the guidelines for conducting interviews in qualitative research Identify what makes a good interview, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of interview studies You can book your place on Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/interview-questions-for-research-tickets-199623919517...
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Feel the fear and do it anyway: Intellectual risk taking and harnessing the politics of dis/comfort

Feel the fear and do it anyway: Intellectual risk taking and harnessing the politics of dis/comfort

Facilitator: Associate Professor Sarah Lawson-Welsh RDF Indicator: A3 Programme: PGR Research Skills Programme 2021-22 Theme: Research Methods Session Overview: This session provides a chance to think about the nature of researcher fear and the benefits of intellectual risk-taking, using Sarah's own research in global food studies as a case study and drawing upon the theoretical writing on dis/comfort of feminist thinkers such as Sara Ahmed, Rachelle Chadwick (and others). There will be opportunities to review your individual and collective ‘comfort zones’ as a researcher and you will be encouraged to think further – and reflexively – about the politics of dis/comfort in your own individual research praxis and the ways in which you can harness this to develop research strategies which challenge privileged positions of ignorance or ‘comfortable truths’ (Chadwick 2021). Learning Outcomes: By the end of the session, you will have a clearer sense of your individual and collective comfort zones as a researcher and better awareness of a range of strategies that you can put...
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Theory, media and film

Theory, media and film

Session facilitator: Professor Steve Rawle Session Overview: There are so few academic disciplines as publicly maligned as Film and Media Studies (now often under the umbrella of Screen Studies), despite the centrally of forms of media to our everyday lives. Yet, Media Studies remains a political hot potato. In a discipline where there are also sharp divides between theory and practice, this raises the question of how Film and Media Studies theorises contemporary media cultures and defines its political contribution and impact.  How should you approach systematic searching for theoretical literature? When does theorising stop and critique or other methods begin? This session draws on a near-20-year journey in film and cultural theory, often at the lower-end of cultural distinction. It considers how to approach ‘theory’ as both an object and a critical framework, including: methods for evaluating and synthesising theory; theoretically-informed criticism; the ethics of theory; and generating impact as a theorist.   Learning Outcomes: Identifying appropriate theoretical approaches The pitfalls of theory and theorising To book your place, use this link to Eventbrite here: Book now...
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Transforming Creative Practice into a Creative Research Project

Transforming Creative Practice into a Creative Research Project

Session facilitator: Associate Professor Vanessa Corby, Professor of Theory, History and Practice of Art All processes of making be they in the disciplines of creative writing, design, performance, fine art, film or music, I would argue, can be research driven. They engage with a field but find it wanting; there’s a gap to be filled, an itch to scratch, something to be said, an experience to be shared or rearticulated. When that’s not the case, in my experience, there’s a tendency to find the practice wanting, because it can lack conviction, integrity and, to parrot the REF, originality, significance and rigour. Learning Outcomes: This workshop offers strategies to identify, articulate and pursue the research dimensions of practice. As such it will be useful for postgraduate researchers who need to meet the learning outcomes set for their programmes and practice-based staff who work within the definitions of research set by the REF. Rather than present a toolkit of how to academicize your work to...
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Practice Led Research: Critical Reflection with Anecdotal Evidence

Practice Led Research: Critical Reflection with Anecdotal Evidence

Session facilitator: Associate Professor Claire Hind, Professor of Contemporary Theatre How to critically address practice led research when writing up the memory of making and producing artistic works for audiences. Learning Outcomes: Understand the relationship between creative experience, documentation and critical thinking. Grasp the concept of anecdotal evidence within art forms Book now This session will be taking place in DG/123...
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Democratic methodologies – Whose voices are heard?

Democratic methodologies – Whose voices are heard?

At a time of flux in the world when we are seeing democratic decay in a range of countries and environments, democratic methodologies are necessary in research to further democracy on a micro and macro level. This session will explore how we might consider different voices in research and the ethical issues that might arise. Learning Outcomes: 1) Participants will have a good understanding of what Democratic Methodologies are. 2) Participants will understand the need for Democratic Methodologies in a range of research settings. 3) Participants will engage with a range of ethics conundrums. Book now This session will be recorded....
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Text and discourse based analysis

Text and discourse based analysis

Session facilitators: Professor Matthew Clarke, Dr Clare Cunningham and Dr Brett Heasman This session is aimed at researchers interested in considering text and discourse approaches to research. The session will introduce some fundamental theoretical principles common to various discourse analytic approaches and outline how we can view various discourse analytic approaches on a continuum between more social theory oriented approaches and more linguistically oriented approaches. The session will briefly look at political discourse theory as an example of the former, conversation analysis as an example of the latter, and critical discourse analysis as an approach that sits somewhere in the middle. Learning Outcomes: An understanding of the underlying philosophical principles underpinning text and discourse approaches to research An insight into the variety of different approaches to text and discourse analysis An understanding of the methods employed by three key discourse analytic approaches (political discourse theory; critical discourse analysis; and conversation analysis) Book now This session will be recorded...
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Introduction to Comprehensive Meta-Analysis

Introduction to Comprehensive Meta-Analysis

Session facilitator: Dr Daniel Madigan In this session, I aim to provide a summary of meta-analysis for those unfamiliar with this analytical approach. I hope to cover: (1) what meta-analysis is, (2) the types of questions that can be answered with meta-analysis, (3) how to conduct meta-analyses, and (4) what software is available to do so. Learning Outcomes: (1) Understand what meta-analysis is (2) Understand the types of questions that can be answered with meta-analysis (3) Understand the main steps in conducting a meta-analysis Click on this link to book your place via Eventbrite This session will be take place on Teams and will be recorded...
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Speaking and writing your thesis

Speaking and writing your thesis

Facilitator: Professor John Tribe RDF Indicator: A1 Programme: PGR Research Skills Programme 2021-22 Theme: Academic Skills   Session Overview: PhD students devote a huge amount of time to their research methods, data collection and analysis. They are then often left to get on with the writing and sometimes completely overwhelmed by the task of compiling a thesis of 80000 words. But writing requires just as much care as the research itself. This session will discuss the elements of good writing for social science researchers. In fact it will encourage you to take pride in beautiful writing which is a delight to the reader. And we’ll also think about how to make your research presentations engaging too. Learning Outcomes: After participating in this session students should be able to: Understand the key challenges of thesis writing Understand the key structural elements of a PhD thesis Apply techniques of good writing to their PhD thesis Apply techniques for competent oral presentation of their thesis   You can book your place on Eventbrite...
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Ethnographic Fieldwork

Ethnographic Fieldwork

Session facilitator: Professor Lee Higgins In this session, we will discuss an ethnographic approach to research with particular attention to participant observation. We will locate the strategy as a form of qualitative research developing from anthropology. Examples will be predominantly taken from an ethnomusicological perspective and provide an opportunity to critically consider the approach. Learning Outcomes: Contextual understanding of ethnography Examples of implementation Book now This session will be recorded...
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