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Metaphor and Method
Full text linkThis webinar was organised by QUEST (Qualitative Expertise at Southampton) in collaboration with the National Centre for Research Methods and the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. It was held on 23 November 2023.
The speakers were: Dr Mihaela Iorga of the University of Portsmouth, Dr Nicole Brown of University College London and Dr Andy Coverdale of the University of Southampton
Complex clinical data and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Full text linkThis Innovation Forum brought together a multidisciplinary group of researchers, clinicians, data scientists, industry partners, NHS Digital, and others to discuss the opportunities and challenges for improving clinical care using complex clinical data. The workshop focussed on one specific clinical challenge, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), with consideration of other data science challenges and solutions in pregnancy care more widely and other clinical conditions.
The Forum was an opportunity to learn about specific data challenges researchers had experienced, learn from what has worked, and where further research is needed. We identified several opportunities for GDM data research in the UK, including the commissioning of the first national GDM audit and a need to focus on preventing type 2 diabetes after GDM in young women. The Forum identified six areas for future work and funding: (i) support for infrastructure to enable data science in this field; (ii) the need to map available data sources in the UK for pregnancy research; (iii) streamlined solutions for ethical approvals and regulatory support; (iv) improving data quality, linkage and access for researchers; (v) development of machine learning and statistical approaches; and (vi) the need to collaborate with clinicians, women and their families to make sure data science improves lives
SDC-Net final meeting: Decisions, decisions, decisions – survey commissioning in a multi-source, multi-mode world
Full text linkThis video is a recording of the final meeting of the Survey Data Collection Network, which took place online on 22 March 2023.
The event began with presentations from a panel of experts, who then answered questions from the audience.
The panel members were: Mike Daly (Department for Work and Pensions); Michael Dale (Department for Education); Ally McAlpine (Scottish Government); Martina Portanti (Office for National Statistics); Andrew Spiers (Sport England).
The speakers discussed how survey commissioners need to consider various trade-offs with regard to cost, accuracy, timeliness, inclusivity, granularity and other issues when deciding on the design of a survey, but also the use of ‘new’ technologies and alternative data sources alongside or instead of surveys.
Panel members also explored what information survey commissioners need from suppliers, researchers and/or methodologists to be able to make informed decisions about the commissioning and design of surveys.
The panel discussion was chaired by Gerry Nicolaas, Director of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen)
Studying elites: Challenges, opportunities & progressive potential
Full text linkIn June 2022, 30 academic and civil society researchers of elites met for two days in London, UK, at an NCRM Innovation Forum titled ‘Studying elites: challenges, opportunities and progressive potential’. The Forum brought together international early career and established academic researchers from across the social sciences and civil society researchers to discuss methodological approaches to the study of elites, share knowledge and strategies, and build capacity in researching elites. The Forum drew on a broad definition of elites as ‘those with vastly disproportionate control over or access to a resource’ (Khan 2012, 362), with a particular focus on political and economic elites. The event was organised around three themes: methodological strategies in studying elites, negotiating access and encounter, and the ethics and purpose of studying elites. The present Innovation Collection shares some of interventions and discussions during the event
Introduction to The Ethics of Research Involving Children: Common Questions, Potential Strategies and Useful Guidance
Full text linkThis series of guidance papers – The Ethics of Research Involving Children: Common Questions, Potential Strategies and Useful Guidance – offers tailored commentary and links to useful resources to assist those undertaking research relating to children and childhood. The six papers have been developed in conjunction with the University of Liverpool Research Ethics Committee, by academic members of the European Children’s Rights Unit (ECRU), an interdisciplinary research unit based within the School of Law and Social Justice with a specific expertise in research involving children. Children and Childhood is a major research theme, led by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and spanning the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Nurturing expertise in child-related research is also a key priority at University level, as part of its Starting Well, Living Well and Ageing Well theme. There are over 150 researchers across the University actively engaged in child-related research, each with distinct disciplinary and methodological approaches, but who share common ethical and methodological consideration points.
These guidance papers address some of these ethical issues and identify strategies to assist researchers in preparing and implementing ethically robust methodologies, particularly when conducting qualitative research with children. They are intended as a basic resource for all researchers at any level who are grappling with different ethical questions, with a view to encouraging thoughtful and rigorous ethics planning and supporting research of the utmost integrity. In that sense, these briefings are not concerned simply with ensuring minimum standards of research ethics; they are about encouraging researchers to interrogate established approaches, innovate in ways that are appropriate for any given project, and achieve the highest possible standards within what are often challenging and unpredictable research contexts. While our focus is on children, the guidance papers should provide useful tips and materials to inform all empirical research with adults generally and potentially vulnerable participants specifically.
This paper is Guidance Paper 1 in the series
Putting in Place Appropriate Safeguards for Research Involving Children
Full text linkThis guidance paper outlines some of the safeguarding considerations for research involving children. It is Guidance Paper 3 in the series The Ethics of Research Involving Children: Common Questions, Potential Strategies and Useful Guidance.
Ethical principles aim to ensure that all aspects of research in so far as possible respect and protect participants from potential harm. Whilst it can be argued that everyone is vulnerable and at risk of potential harm at some point (after all, vulnerability is part of the human condition ), children are seen to be more vulnerable than adults. This can be attributed to their physicality (they are naturally smaller and weaker), their more limited social development (they have not yet mastered the social tools necessary to protect themselves from harm), and established power dynamics (adults have power over children which can undermine, disadvantage and even exploit children). As such, children require special protection in law, policy, procedures and, indeed, when it comes to designing and conducting research.
Additional safeguards may need to be put in place to safeguard children who are involved in research of a particularly sensitive nature, or with children who are regarded as especially vulnerable due to their circumstances, characteristics and experiences. This includes those who have suffered abuse, those who have been detained, those who have experienced family separation or economic difficulties, and those affected by ill-health, special educational needs or disability
Confidentiality, Privacy and the Protection of Children’s Data
Full text linkThis guidance paper discusses issues of confidentiality, privacy and data protection in relation to the collection of information from or about children for research. It is Guidance Paper 6 in the series The Ethics of Research Involving Children: Common Questions, Potential Strategies and Useful Guidance
Memory and Method
Full text linkThis webinar was organised by QUEST (Qualitative Expertise at Southampton) in collaboration with the National Centre for Research Methods and the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. It was held on 26 October 2022.
The speakers were: Professor Emily Keightley of Loughborough University, Abigail Croydon from the University of Southampton and Dr Deborah Madden of the University of Brighton
Laura Bernardi on mixed methods and research questions
Full text linkIn this episode of the Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talks to Laura Bernardi, Professor of Demography and Sociology of the Life Course within the LIVES Centre at the University of Lausanne. Laura is also the former Deputy Director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (LIVES), which studied the effects of the post-industrial economy and society on the development of vulnerability – using a longitudinal and comparative approach.
Laura discusses just how mixed mixed-methods can be, how most research questions relating to change and development over time lend themselves well to longitudinal and mixed methods research, and the importance of establishing and retaining professional parameters with study participants.
This series of the Methods podcast is produced by the National Centre for Research Methods as part of the EU Horizon2020 funded YouthLife project, and is looking at how researchers can do better longitudinal research on youth transitions.
For further information on the YouthLife project, visit www.EUqualimix.ncrm.ac.u
Research strategy, uncertainty and COVID-19: A conversation
Full text linkAs part of NCRM’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a project called Changing Research Practices that, over three funding phases between 2020 and 2022, aimed to bring together members of researcher communities to share ideas, support each other, and identify and synthesise rapidly emerging evidence about how to adapt research to the pandemic conditions.
In the third phase, we ran a series of workshops that focused on the theme of uncertainty in research, which had been an important aspect throughout the earlier part of the project. The workshop series involved a small group of participants, five of whom used the last workshop to generate a film of their conversation, which summarises many of the key issues in regards to uncertainty that emerged through the project. In the film, the researchers used a metaphor sketch elicitation method (coincidentally something we had generated for Phase I) to explore uncertainty in research practices and includes contributions from Ned Barker (UCL), Ceri Davies (Natcen), Romina Istratii (SOAS), Olimpia Mosteanu (Social-Life) and Pedro Rothstein (People’s Palace, Queen Mary University).
The video covers a wide of topics in regards to research processes and shows the methodological and ethical considerations that come to the fore in the context of crisis