What You Need to Know: ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Initiative

Or do you have a better idea about using the data? 
Photo by Franki Chamaki on Unsplash

The ESRC’s Secondary Data Analysis Initiative might not win any awards for ease of verbal articulation, but it does “do exactly what it says on the tin”. Sarah Tetley hears more from Tina Haux about the scheme, and what academics need to do if they want to be successful.

Using Social Media to Support your Research

30 November, 2pm

Medway Campus, Room TBC

Technology is changing the way we access information, and how we communicate. Nowhere is this more apparent than in academia. Social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and blogging platforms such as Blogger and Wordpress, are increasingly being used to raise profiles, to disseminate research, and to make links with potential collaborators and participants.

The latest ECR Network session will look at how we can make best use of social media tools to support our own research. Presented by three experienced researchers, the workshop will focus on:

•  Using Twitter to talk about your research and engage with others beyond your School – Dr Mark Burnley, Sports & Exercise Sciences

• Using Facebook to recruit research participants and manage a project – Dr Kate Bradley, SSPSSR

• Using a range of tools, including Kudos, ResearchGate and Impactstory, to disseminate your research, track your impact, and improve citations – Dr Nigel Temperton, Medway School of Pharmacy.

The event is free and open to all, and refreshments will be provided. However, places are limited, so do let me know if you wish to come along.

Violence Research Group: Terrorist Offenders and the Community

The Violence Research Group, which was launched with a PVC's Lunchtime Seminar in March, will be holding a seminar tomorrow. Polly Radcliffe from SSPSSR will introduce a discussion on 'Terrorist Offenders and the Community'. She will address issues of notions of threats, risks and community in the enlisting of Islamic organisations to re-educate and reintegrate Terrorist Act offenders on licence - preliminary thoughts.
It will start at 2pm, and all are welcome. The venue is Keynes Seminar Rm 11.

PVC's Lunchtime Seminars: 'Diagnosing Diseases in IVF Embryos'

Following on from the thoughtful and engaging discussions on ‘Experts’ and ‘Institutions’ last term, the first PVC’s Lunchtime Seminar of 2010 will be taking place later this month. Prof Darren Griffin (Biosciences) will be looking at the ethical, legal, social, psychological and biological issues around the diagnosis of diseases in IVF embryos. He will be joined by Prof Sally Sheldon from Kent Law School, and the audience will include a range of academics who will be able to contribute to the discussion, including some from SSPSSR, SECL (Philosophy) and the Centre for Health Service Studies (CHSS).

In addition, whilst Darren was in the process of putting together a course proposal for an MSc course provisionally entitled “Reproductive Medicine: Science and Ethics” he became aware of just how much interest there was in this field within the University (albeit from a range of different disciplines). Thus he would be interesting in hearing from people who might be interested in becoming involved in a research cluster around this area, which would meet 3 or 4 times a year to discuss various issues (perhaps a recent paper or piece of legislation) from a range of different perspectives, or invite an eminent speaker. This might, in turn, lead to new ideas for publications or avenues of funding.
Do let me know if you would like to come along so that I can arrange the catering. It will take place between 12:30 – 2pm on 27 Jan in Keynes Seminar Room 17. Lunch will be provided.

PVC's Lunchtime Seminars: Jeremy Carrette and 'Institutions'

After the success of the last Lunchtime Seminar, led by Charlotte Sleigh, which drew a capacity audience to listen to a fascinating discussion on the nature of expertise, next month's is already taking shape. The host this time will be Prof Jeremy Carrette, who has recently won the largest grant given by the AHRC in their Religion and Society programme. His project will examine the relationship of religious NGOs to the UN in New York and Geneva. Understandable, then, that he has chosen to focus on 'Institutions' for his Lunchtime Seminar. He's invited speakers from Politics and International Relations and SSPSSR, and will be using the same 'In Our Time' format that worked so well for Charlotte. It will take place on 9 December at 12:30pm. All are welcome; contact me if you'd like to come along.

The Grants Factory Evolves

An interesting meeting of the Board for Research and Enterprise yesterday. On the agenda was the question of Internal Peer Review. I'd prepared a paper outlining the reasons for considering having such a system - success rates falling, less funding available, more competition - and looking at what exists already, both internally and externally. Jacqueline Aldridge then discussed the experience from the 'Grants Factory' workshops over the summer, which brought academics together to learn from the Dean of Social Sciences about how best to frame an application, and then to give feedback to each other on their proposals.
The Grants Factory had been a valuable experience, and we're hoping to offer something along these lines on an on-going basis - such as a monthly mock panel. It has the potential to benefit from the pros of Internal Peer Review - getting objective feedback on applications prior to submission - whilst avoiding the cons - such as it being time-consuming, burdensome, and bureaucratic.
In the meantime there will be the last of Andrew Derrington's Grants Factories in SSPSSR on 26 November, which is open to all members of the Social Science Faculty. Contact Jacqueline if you would like to take part.

Impact Seminar with Steven Hill (RCUK): 8 October

A final reminder about the Impact Seminar next Thursday. As you can see from many of the preceding posts, 'Impact' is a key issue in research funding at the moment, and this Seminar will be the chance to hear from two sides on this: Steven Hill (note his blog entry on 'Impact') is head of the Strategy Unit at RCUK, and has worked at both Defra and Oxford. He'll be presenting the 'official' RCUK viewpoint. Prof Peter Taylor-Gooby, Professor of Social Policy in SSPSSR, will be giving an academic's viewpoint. Their talks will be followed by a discussion chaired by Prof John Baldock, PVC for Research.
If you would like to come along and have not been in touch already, do drop me a line.