National Centre for Research Methods 2021 online training calendar

Presenter: Dr Helen Kara

Ethical research is better quality research. This one day online course (taught over two mornings) is designed to raise your awareness of why and how you need to think and act ethically in practice throughout your research work.  The current system of ethical review by committee can lead to the misleading sense of having ‘done ethics’. This course shows you how to conduct research which is truly ethical. It also provides the opportunity for discussion of your own ethical dilemmas, if you wish.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenters: Professor Scott Orford, Sam Jones, Katie Dickson

Data are a key resource for research and datasets are increasingly being shared for reuse by others as secondary data. However, as more secondary data are made available online finding the most relevant data for your research can be difficult.

This event will guide participants through the benefits of using web-based data portals to discover secondary datasets relevant to their research project. As an example of how to do this we will introduce the WISERD DataPortal – a free tool to help researchers discover data related to Wales.

Data portals are web-based applications created with the intention of helping researchers discover secondary datasets. They provide detailed information about a dataset’s subject matter, geographic extent and timeframe, allowing a researcher to ascertain whether that data would be useful for their project. Portals either offer access to the data themselves or inform the researcher of how to gain access to the data.

The event will be split into two parts:

1. We will consider the benefits of using data portals as data discovery tools. We will then review some of the key data portals available in the UK, including those provided by public sector organisations (such as the ONS), data repositories (such as the UK Data Archive) and academic institutions (such as the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE)).

2. We will offer a detailed walk-through of how a data portal could be used as a data discovery tool for a research project using WISERD’s DataPortal as an example. WISERD’s DataPortal is focused on Wales, enabling users to discover government, academic and third sector data from a wide variety of social science related disciplines, including health, education, language, employment, socio-economic and demographic data.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenter: Dr Nick Bearman

In this one day online course (taught over 2 mornings on the 2nd and 5th February) we will explore how to use R to import, manage and process spatial data. We will also cover the process of making choropleth maps, as well as some basic spatial analysis. Finally, we will cover the use of loops to make multiple maps quickly and easily, one of the major benefits of using a scripting language to make maps, rather than traditional graphic point-and-click interface.

This course is ideal for anyone who wishes to use spatial data in their role. This includes government and other public sector researchers who have data with some spatial information (eg: address, postcode etc) which they wish to show on a map. This course is also suitable for those who wish to have an overview of what spatial data can be used for. No previous experience of spatial data is required.

No previous experience of coding is required, although participants would benefit from some experience of using spatial data (eg: Google maps).

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenter: Dr Roxanne Connelly

We often learn statistical data analysis skills using data which is assumed to arise from a simple random sample of the target population. However, most large scale multi-purpose social survey data resources use complex sampling strategies. These include many of the UK’s large scale infrastructural data resources such as Understanding Society or the Millennium Cohort Study. Complex sample designs need to be taken into account when analysing these data if we intend to make inferences to a wider population.

This workshop will provide students with the skills to appropriately analyse complex samples data using Stata.

Students need access to Stata, and some familiarity with Stata is assumed.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenters: Professor Adeline Delavande and Professor Emilia Del Bono

When making decisions under uncertainty, economists typically assume that individuals form probabilistic expectations for unknown quantities and maximize expected utility. Probabilistic measurement of expectations in surveys and experimental settings has become a very active area of economic research. The online course (which will be taught over two mornings) will introduce you to recent developments in the measurement and use of data on subjective expectations.

The one day course (taught over two mornings) will cover different methods for the elicitation of subjective expectations through probabilistic questions in surveys or experimental settings, using examples drawn from recent work in this area. The course discusses the different methods used for eliciting such information in both high and low income-countries contexts, the key methodological issues involved, and the open research questions. Several hands-on exercises will be proposed, where students could explore different ways of collecting the data through standard survey software, such as Qualtrics.

The second part of the course will focus on the value of subjective expectations data in the analysis of economic behaviour. Here we will show the way in which expectation data can be used in choice models to understand economic behaviour. Several examples will be discussed from the recent literature in economics, focusing on educational choices and choice related to risky behaviours.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenter: Dr Renee Luthra

This is a two day course which will be taught over four mornings.

The fact that correlation does not equate to causation is so well known that it has become a popular saying in itself. Yet the way that quantitative analysis is discussed in much popular and political discourse, as well as interpreted by many social scientists, fails to take issues surrounding causality fully into account. This may be because randomized control experiments, widely understood as the most defensible method of establishing causality, are frequently impossible or unethical to conduct in social science settings.

Analysts thus have to work with observational data, which often miss information crucial for making causal interpretations of statistical associations. However, under some circumstances and subject to specific assumptions, one can interpret estimated associations as casual with substantially higher confidence. This course deals with methods that can be used under such circumstances and subject to the specific assumptions. The course offers practical skills in implementing these methods and the theoretical skills needed to understand and discuss evidence from them.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenters: Mark Carrigan and Phil Brooker

This bootcamp will take place online over a five-week period, and is aimed at academics and postgraduate researchers across the social sciences wishing to build skills with computer programming as a research method.

The event will provide participants with not only programming skills (i.e. the “how” of programming) but also explore Python as a tool that can be creatively applied to problems in the social world (i.e. the “why” of programming as a social researcher). It aims to provide participants with a core set of Python programming skills, and kickstart collaborations and projects that will both foster an emerging network of social science programmers and provide opportunities for them to continue developing their skills beyond the event itself.

It’s not a comprehensive training course covering every possible thing you could possibly do in Python (which is huge!) rather it has been designed to be an intensive experience which will help you develop a programmer’s mentality and be confident in using Python as a social scientist.

To ensure this happens the programme needs participants to engage in multiple ways during the bootcamp (and the week before it starts). The programme is built on group work and a community involvement in the tasks that will be set. It is vital therefore that you are able to commit at least 6 hours a week to this and we ask that you consider your ability to make that commitment before submitting your application for a place.

Schedule

Each week of activity in this bootcamp will comprise a range of components, some synchronous (e.g. workshop sessions led by the instructors and delivered over Zoom) and some asynchronous (e.g. video-recorded talks, contributing to discussion boards, completing work independently/in small groups, etc). Each week you will be:

• joining one synchronous session of between 1 and 2 hours on each Wednesday afternoons from 31st March 2021 – 28th April 2021.

• engaging in set tasks to support the learning for that week (at a time convenient to you).

• actively participating in group work during the week.

A solid commitment to all of these components is a requirement, this will be between 6-7 hours each week.

We are providing this training free of charge to a maximum of 25 researchers working in UK based organisations. Applications are made via Eventbrite and will close at 4pm 12th February 2021. We will aim to inform all applicants of the outcome by 26th February 2021. This is to allow those that are successful time to clear any schedules and participate in the pre-sessional discussions and preparation.

Presenter: Dr Nick Bearman

In this online two day course (taught over four mornings) you will learn what GIS is, how it works and how you can use it to create maps and perform spatial analysis. We assume no prior knowledge of GIS and you will learn how to get data into the GIS, how to produce maps using your own data and what you can and cannot do with spatial data. You will also learn how to work with a variety of different data sources and types (including XY coordinate data and address or postcode data) and using spatial overlays, point in polygon analysis and spatial joins.

This course is ideal for anyone who wishes to use spatial data in their role. This includes students, academic, government & other public sector researchers who have data with some spatial information (e.g. address, postcode, etc.) which they wish to show on a map. This course is also suitable for those who wish to have an overview of what GIS and spatial data can be used for, and how you can better represent your data with maps. No previous experience of spatial data is required.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenter: Dr Patrick Brindle

This online workshop aims to give participants a range of practical approaches they can adopt when writing about methodology in the social sciences, with a particular focus on writing a PhD methodology chapter. Using a range of exercises throughout, the course focuses on 20 or so writing strategies and thought experiments designed to provide more clarity and power to the often-difficult challenge of writing about methods. The course also looks at common mistakes and how to avoid them when writing about methods. The focus throughout is on building confidence and increasing our repertoire of writing strategies and skills.

This course is aimed at PhD students, post-docs and junior researchers in the social sciences working on their doctoral theses or supervising doctoral students.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenter: Dr Anna Tarrant

Getting personal with existing qualitative data: the fundamentals of data re-use and qualitative secondary analysis – A Two-Day Workshop using the Timescapes Archive

This exciting and immersive three-day workshop will develop your knowledge and skills in reusing and analysing archived qualitative data. Using a combination of synchronous and asynchronous presentations, alongside group-based activities, this workshop will provide an opportunity for you to engage in data reuse and explore the potentials of methods of Qualitative Secondary Analysis (QSA). Methods of QSA enable qualitative researchers to engage analytically with questions of data reuse for the purposes of building new research directions, questions and analyses, while simultaneously engaging with questions central to rigorous qualitative research. This includes how data are put to use and how they are rendered as particular kinds of evidence in relation to specific analytic foci and substantive concerns. Over the three days, guided data analysis activities will be structured by short video presentations that focus on introducing methods of qualitative secondary data analysis, covering key methodological debates in the field. You will be supported to register for the Timescapes Archive and guided through hands-on sessions exploring the ethics of QSA and processes of data sharing. Your registration for the Timescapes Archive will give you access to a specialist repository of qualitative longitudinal data endorsed and supported by the national UK Data Archive. In individual, group and paired work you will use these data through a range of ‘depth-to-breadth’ methodological strategies in qualitative secondary analysis.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenters: Bella Struminskaya and Florian Keusch

Smartphone sensors (e.g., GPS, camera, accelerometer), apps, and wearables (e.g., smartwatches, fitness bracelets) allow researchers to collect rich behavioural data, potentially with less measurement error and lower respondent burden than self-reports through surveys. Passive mobile data collection (e.g., location tracking, call logs, browsing history) and respondents performing additional tasks on smartphones (e.g., taking pictures, scanning receipts) can augment or replace self-reports in surveys. However, there are multiple challenges to collecting these data: participant selectivity, (non)willingness to provide sensor data or perform additional tasks, privacy concerns and ethical issues, quality and usefulness of the data, and practical issues of implementation. This course will address the challenges by reviewing state-of-the-art practices of smartphone sensor, app, and wearables data collection, ranging from small-scale studies of hard-to-reach populations to large-scale studies to produce official statistics, and discuss design best-practices for this type of measurement. Recommendations provided will include:

 •   What research questions can be answered using smartphone sensors, apps, and wearables?

 •   What are participants’ concerns and how to address them?

 •   How to ask for consent for sensor measurements and ensure participation?

As part of this course, participants will have the chance to work on practical issues of implementing smartphone sensors, apps, and wearables into social science research. Participants will discuss their own research study designs using new technology and have the opportunity to present the scenarios of combining survey data with data from health, accelerometery, and location sensors. The course will not discuss analysis of sensor data, nor demonstrate how to program smartphone sensor apps.

Please note for payment purposes, this is a 3-part course which is the equivalent to 2 days of teaching.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenters: Professor Paul Clarke and Dr Spyros Samothrakis

This two-day online workshop will

1. Introduce the basic principles of causal modelling (potential outcomes, graphs, causal effects) while emphasising the key role of design and assumptions in obtaining robust estimates.

2. Introduce the basic principles of machine learning and the use of machine learning methods to do causal inference (e.g. methods stemming from domain adaptation and propensity scores).

3. Show how to implement these techniques for causal analysis and interpret the results in illustrative examples.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants

Presenter: Dr Pamela Campanelli

In this live online course, learn about questionnaire design in the context of different modes of data collection. Explore question wording issues, the questionnaire as a whole and visual concerns when moving from interviewer-administered to web survey, when creating a web survey in general and when facing the questionnaire design challenges in creating mobile-friendly web surveys. Mirroring in-person training this will be an interactive course and will also have workshops throughout.

• £30 per day for UK/EU registered students

• £60 per day for staff at UK/EU academic institutions, UK/EU Research Councils researchers, UK/EU public sector staff, staff at UK/EU registered charity organisations and recognised UK/EU research institutions.

• £100 per day for all other participants