Have you got a piece of writing that you’re “meant” to be doing but feel that you’re not making enough progress? That you “should” have done it by now? Or that you don’t know where to start or even if it’s any good anyway? We all knew we were going to have to write papers when we got into academia but it can be really hard to get going and maintain that effort when it feels difficult or we think we’re too busy with other things. You’ll probably have seen lots of workshops and tips online about writing every day or blocking out whole days to write. Maybe you’ve tried them for a while but it’s not worked. In this two hour online workshop, we’ll focus on WHY you’re not writing at the moment and how we can manage our thoughts and feelings to get more done and enjoy the process. I’ll help you identify the specific thoughts that are holding...
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Researcher self-care

Researcher self-care

This session was originally due to take place on 19th June but has been postponed to 26th June. Please inform the Research Office if you previously booked a place but are no longer able to attend at the rescheduled date and time. Session facilitator: Professor Lynne Gabriel Why should we address researcher self-care? This seminar considers self-care for researchers and invites participants to consider their own self-care and implications for research/researcher practice. This session takes place in HG139 (Holgate building, first floor). Please visit Eventbrite to register for this event: Researcher self-care Tickets...
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CANCELLLED: Interview Techniques for Research

CANCELLLED: Interview Techniques for Research

We regret to inform you that this session has been cancelled. Please contact the Research Office (researchoffice@yorksj.ac.uk) if you have any queries or concerns.  Session facilitator: Dr Eeva Sointu, Associate Professor, Sociology Interviews constitute a key qualitative method, and this session delves into what it means, and what it takes, to interview well. The challenges of interviews pertain to how human the method is. Anything and everything that is relevant to communication more broadly is present when interviewing people. Good interviews are mindful of identities and power dynamics shaping encounters with participants. As such, good questions are not just clear. They are reflective of how the social suffuses communication. Further, while some topics easily yield themselves to asking interview questions, other themes can be difficult to think and to talk about. In addition to thinking about identities in research encounters, I want to reflect on how we can ask questions on topics that are difficult to talk about. I also want to think about...
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Transforming creative practice into a creative research project

Transforming creative practice into a creative research project

Session facilitated by 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...
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The Great PGR Debate

The Great PGR Debate

Organised by the School of Science, Technology and Health at York St John University in conjunction with Pint of Science York The Great PGR Debate will see PGRs from York St John University and the University of York pitted against one another. Following a series of short research and career talks, students and academics will discuss the merits of a PGR degree and the benefits/pitfalls of research. This event offers PGRs the chance to meet other like-minded individuals and form meaningful connections within an informal environment. The debate is open to all PGRs and early career researchers at YSJU and is being run in conjunction with the closing night of the 2023 Pint of Science York festival at the Winning Post pub on Bishopthorpe Road Keynote speakers will include Dr Caitlin Dean, (Chair Trustee for Pregnancy Sickness Support), and Dr Sam Orange (Deputy Director of Research, Newcastle University). Please join us for this event as we discuss practical advice to successfully navigate the complex...
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Field Research: Challenges and Risk Management

Field Research: Challenges and Risk Management

Session facilitated by Dr Pauline Couper and academic colleagues from the Geography team at YSJU Field research is a messy business. From planning logistics and negotiating access to places and people, through looking after your own safety, to coping with the complexities of constructing knowledge from the world-in-process; dealing with the unexpected is an inevitable part of fieldwork. This session provides insight into the range of challenges field researchers encounter. We draw on YSJU colleagues' own experiences of research, and Pauline’s research interviews with geographers from around the world about their experiences of field research. Learning Outcomes Through this session attendees will gain: 1. Appreciation of the range of challenges associated with field research. 2. Awareness of the difference between risk assessment and ongoing risk management. This session will take place in SK/036 (Skell building, ground floor). To book your place, please click here....
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Feel the Fear (and do it anyway): intellectual risk taking

Feel the Fear (and do it anyway): intellectual risk taking

Facilitator: Associate Professor Sarah Lawson-Welsh Session Overview: This session provides the 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 in place to harness intellectual risk-taking in your research...
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Informed consent, permissions and briefings to research participants

Informed consent, permissions and briefings to research participants

Session Facilitator: Sarah Mallinson-Howard, Associate Head of Sport Protecting participants in research is extremely important and one means to achieve this is through obtaining informed consent from participants. This workshop will explore: 1) what participants’ rights are when it comes to informed consent and participating in research, 2) what gaining informed consent involves for the researcher and where permissions and briefings fit in, 3) what happens if it is not possible to obtain informed consent. By the end of the session, participants will be able to: 1) Describe the necessary components of informed consent. 2) Use appropriate methods to obtain informed consent from research participants. 3) Recognise when participants are able to give informed consent or not. This session takes place on Microsoft Teams and will be recorded. Please visit Eventbrite to register for the event: Informed consent, permissions and briefings to research participants Tickets...
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Research ‘with’, not ‘on’ communities: Engaging seldom-heard groups in the research process

Research ‘with’, not ‘on’ communities: Engaging seldom-heard groups in the research process

PLEASE NOTE: This session will now take place from 9:30am-10:30am, NOT 11am-12pm as previously advertised. All other details remain the same. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Session Facilitator: Maria Fernandes-Jesus Session Summary: The engagement of systematically marginalised communities (e.g., based on race, immigrant status, income) in the research process requires conducting research ‘with’ rather than ‘on’ them. In this session, we will critically reflect on the barriers to engaging often excluded groups and explore practical and methodological approaches that promote inclusion, diversity and co-production in the research process. Learning Outcomes: Describe who are seldom groups and why they are excluded from research. Identify strategies to promote inclusion in the research process. Demonstrate practical knowledge in terms of effective approaches and strategies to engage seldom groups in the research process. This session will take place in HG/139 (Holgate building, first floor). To book a ticket, please visit Research 'with', not 'on' communities: Engaging seldom-heard groups Tickets,...
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How to be your own best supervisor with Dr Vikki Burns: the PhD Life Coach

How to be your own best supervisor with Dr Vikki Burns: the PhD Life Coach

Do you get overwhelmed, procrastinate or worry that you’re not good enough? Tell yourself that you can’t get done all the things that you have to do but also feel like you’re not doing enough? Find yourself wondering what you’ve actually done this week? Don’t worry, it’s totally normal. It’s normal for PhD students and it’s normal for your supervisors too, so please don’t think you’re broken. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be like this. You can feel better AND get more done in less time. In this two hour online workshop we will explore what it means to be your own supervisor and why developing this ability can help you succeed and enjoy your academic life. We’ll learn how to find the line between being too hard on yourself and being too easy on yourself, and instead make some guidelines that are compassionate, firm, ambitious and supportive. We’ll also learn how to develop the skill...
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