Category / PG research

This part of the blog features news and information for postgraduate research students and supervisors

Congratulations to PhD student Alice Ladur

BU research, open access, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing

FHSS PhD student Alice Ladur has been awarded a small but very competitive grant by FfWG, the Funds for Women Graduates.  FfWG is the trading name of the BFWG Charitable Foundation and the BFWG (British Federation of Women Graduates), which is affiliated to the International Federation of University Women.

Alice is based in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).  Her PhD research in Uganda is supervised by Prof. Vanora Hundley and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Her thesis research has already resulted in an academic paper published in the international journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, which Open Access.

British Academy Visit – Save the Date!

BU research, ECR Network, Events, Funding opportunities, PG research, pre-award, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework, Training

September 10th 11:00 – 14:00 Talbot Campus

Members of the British Academy are visiting BU on Tuesday 10th September.

There will be a presentation late morning, looking at their portfolio of funding opportunities and providing useful information on their application and assessment processes, with some handy top tips. This will be followed by a networking lunch.

To book, please contact Theresa McManus.

Please put the date in your diaries!

Enhancing Postgraduate Research Cultures – UKCGE Annual Conference

conferences, Doctoral College, Featured, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Research Training

The Doctoral College plays a central role in the development of the postgraduate research community, culture and environment here at BU. On 1st & 2nd July 2019, the Doctoral College Research Skills and Development Officer (Natalie Stewart) attended the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) Annual Conference with this year’s theme ‘enhancing postgraduate research cultures’ hosted at the University of Salford, MediaCity, Manchester.

The conference had a strong focus on how institutions can support positive PGR cultures and communities in which students can realise their potential. We explored the value of PGR education, listened to experiences of PGR students and discussed what a thriving PGR culture looks like. We also heard from Dr Mark Bennett from FindAUniversity who surveyed prospective PGRs on their expectations of a research degree, findings of which could help inform future provisions.

Day 2 was filled with thought-provoking oral presentation and workshops facilitated by colleagues from Heriot-Watt University, Birmingham City University, Imperial College London and University of Bath. They had us discussing and reflecting on our institutional support for PGRs in particular the activities and events we offer and whether these are actually what students want, how we measure event success, how we support PGRs ‘writing up’ and those PGRs approaching their Viva Voce examination. (If you would like to know how the Doctoral College currently supports these areas please get in touch). For further conference highlights you can view the #UKCGE19 twitter feed.

I look forward to working closely with PGRs and colleagues to further enhance the PGR research culture here at BU.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any thoughts or ideas you would like to discuss regarding PGR support. PGRs can freely submit feedback and suggestions via the anonymous RDP Feedback Survey which remains open year round.

Image result for ukcge image

 

 

Impact Case Study Writing Retreat

BU research, ECR Network, Events, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework

Thursday 4th July 09:30 – 16:00

A whole day REF impact case study writing retreat, consisting of a two hour presentation on case study writing with the rest of the day spent writing. The trainer will be on hand the whole day to provide 1:1 support and guidance. Attendees are required to have an impact case study to write and work on; own laptop is required for the session.

The writing retreat will provide guidance on:

  • How to write and excellent impact case study
  • How to frame the writing
  • What a successful case study looks like
  • Other hints and tips towards successful impact case study writing
  • Guiding individual attendees during the personal writing elements

See here for more details and to book.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are NO Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

Science, Technology & Health
Social Sciences & Humanities
Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Changes to the Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace

Doctoral College, PG research, Training, Vitae

Information for Postgraduate Research Students & Supervisors

The Researcher Development Programme (RDP) Brightspace unit has been refreshed. This should make accessing resources and workshops quicker and easier. So what’s changed?

  • Content is no longer divided by Vitae RDF domains, instead all workshops are merged into one area and all online content has been merged into a separate area.
  • Some workshops have been combined in one content area, for example milestone preparation, research philosophy, research designs and research methods.
  • ‘Additional resources’ information will continue to be added to workshop contents to supplement workshop learning – so check these out.
  • These changes have been reflected in the quick links on the homepage.

The feedback form remains live. It is always valuable to hear your thoughts and views on all aspects of the RDP to ensure its meeting your needs.

The new RDP brochure is currently in design and will be available (in print and PDF) from early September; the new design will reflect these Brightspace updates. Workshop dates and times will also be released in early September and ready to book.

Although RDP workshops have finished for this academic year, you still have access to all online content including the 18 research skills masters programme online modules, the new Video Arts e-learning and videos and much more online content.

If you have any questions regarding your researcher development or the resources available to you, please contact me on pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Best wishes, Natalie.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are no Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Photo of the week

BU research, PG research, Research news

The photo of the week series is a weekly series featuring photos taken by our academics and students for our Research Photography Competition, which provides a snapshot of some of the incredible research undertaken across the BU community.

This week’s photo of the week, ‘Digital Virtual, the Liminoid Space,’ is by Nurist Ulfa, who came second in this years research photography competition and is a PGR student in the faculty of Media and Communications.

Digital virtual space (Shields 2003) is a ‘liminoid’ zone (Turner 1982), the locale mediated by technology that combine aspects of materiality and imagination. This space is characterised by the removal of physical boundaries and the interwoven sociocultural norms, codes and rules, and thus offer freedom for individual to carry out various practices, adopt different subject positions and actualise fantasises and daydreams beyond what is possible in the materially real (Denegri-Knott and Molesworth 2010; 2012). In the context of Jilbab girl, the digital virtual space in video games has enabled them to move away from the physical, social, cultural and religious contexts of everyday life, facilitating experimentations of practices that are inconsistent with their Islamic beliefs, including wearing non-veiled fashions, consuming non-halal foods, performing excessive shopping and practicing non-Muslim lifestyles, including dating and flirting, etc.

Creative Research Methods

BU research, ECR Network, Events, PG research, Research communication, Research Training, RKE development framework, Training

Tuesday 18th June 09:00 – 16:30 Talbot Campus

Let loose your inner creativity!

This workshop explores creative and arts-based research methods, research using technology, mixed methods, transformative research frameworks,  creative data analysis, and will involve designing research and preparing a presentation.

The aim of the workshop is to provide you with an increased awareness of the four pillars of creative research methods;  help you assess which methods may be most appropriate in your research practice; and give you increased confidence in the use of creative research methods .

More information and the link for bookings are on the staff intranet.

Dr. Helen Kara has been an independent research since 1999. She has a background of employment in the private, public, and voluntary sectors, and now undertakes commissioned research and evaluation, mainly for public and voluntary sector organisations and partnerships. Her research areas are social care, health, and the voluntary/third sector.

Breastfeeding paper published today

BU research, Featured academics, NHS, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing

The journal Women and Birth (by Elsevier) published the latest academic paper by Dr. Alison Taylor today.  Alison’s paper ‘The therapeutic role of video diaries: A qualitative study involving breastfeeding mothers’ had been online as a pre-publication for a while but today in appeared officially in print [1].  Alison is a Senior Lecturer in Midwifery in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and this scientific paper is part of her completed PhD research project. 

 

 

The paper is based on a large number of video clips recorded by new mothers.  The total recording time exceeded 43 hours. This paper focuses on one theme, the therapeutic role of the camcorder in qualitative research. Four subthemes are discussed highlighting the therapeutic impact of talking to the camcorder: personifying the camcorder; using the camcorder as a confidante; a sounding board; and a mirror and motivator.  Dr. Taylor and colleagues conclude that frequent opportunities to relieve tension by talking to “someone” without interruption, judgement or advice can be therapeutic. Further research needs to explore how the video diary method can be integrated into standard postnatal care to provide benefits for a wider population.

This is the second paper originating from Alison’s PhD research, the first one appeared in Midwifery (also published by Elsevier) [2].   Dr. Taylor’s PhD thesis was supervised by Prof. Emerita Jo Alexander, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (in CMMPH) and Prof. Kath Ryan at the University of Reading.

[Drawing of Breastfeeding Woman by Allison Churchill.]

 

REFERENCES:

  1. Taylor AM, van Teijlingen E., Alexander J, Ryan K. (2019) The therapeutic role of video diaries: A qualitative study involving breastfeeding mothers, Women & Birth 32(3):276-83. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519218300064
  2. Taylor A, van Teijlingen E, Ryan K, Alexander J (2019) ‘Scrutinised, judged & sabotaged’: A qualitative video diary study of first-time breastfeeding mothers, Midwifery 75: 16-23.

Workshop available – Ethical Thinking and Decision-making in Practice

BU research, data management, PG research, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research Training, Training

Are you new or relatively new to research? Are you interested in attending a workshop that will allow you to improve your understanding and confidence in the application of ethical considerations to your research activity? Then take advantage of the following opportunity!

Dr Helen Kara will be delivering a one-day workshop on Monday 17th June, 09:30 – 16:30 on Talbot Campus, entitled Ethical Thinking and Decision-making in Practice.

The aims & objectives of this sessions are to:

  • To increase their awareness of the need for ethics compliance in research and, by the end of the workshop, be aware of their responsibilities and when to seek further assistance
  • To develop their skills in the following key areas, within the context of ethical research:
    a. Planning and design
    b. Gathering data and data analysis
    c. Reporting, including presentation and dissemination
    d. Consideration of ethical dilemmas, based on real-world examples and participants’ experience

If you want to book onto this workshop and take advantage of this great opportunity, then please see the following page for instructions.
If you are a PGR, please email Organisation Development to book your place.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are no Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in June and July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

A day in the life of a PGR with Chloe Casey

BU research, PG research

Chloe Casey is a first year PhD student from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences who is researching the mental wellbeing of postgraduate researchers (PGRs). Research suggests that the prevalence of poor mental health is higher in PGRs than in other student populations or the highly educated general public, yet few researchers have implemented interventions to promote wellbeing in doctoral students. We follow Chloe as she attends her first academic conference in Brighton: The UK Council of Graduate Education’s first annual conference on the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Postgraduate Researchers, where she presented with her supervisor, Dr Steve Trenoweth.

Day 1

05.59

En route to Brighton from Bournemouth on the earliest train I have ever boarded. I thought I would do some work to distract myself from worrying about the presentation, whether I’ve chosen the right outfit or if people will think I’m smart enough to be there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.57

I don’t know what I was panicking about, everyone from professors to other PGRs were really open and willing to learn from each other.  Apart from my initial worry: ‘is everyone in the world researching the same topic as me?!’ I realised that although there were consistent themes we all seem to be approaching the issue using different methods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13.52

A conference highlight for me was listening to John de Pury from Universities UK discuss their wellbeing strategies through the PGR lens. There was a real sense that the HEI sector and policy makers are starting to take note that PGRs aren’t the same as other students and need support tailored to their needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.39

The break-away sessions were a great opportunity to network with other researchers and HEI professionals in smaller groups. As a PGR myself, my favourite session was ‘Fail again, fail better’, celebrating failure as a wellbeing intervention for doctoral students. Research is a rollercoaster, it’s exploratory, frustrating and rewarding. We should honestly share our ups and downs with others, not to normalize struggle, but engage with failure as a positive, learning process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21.08

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2

10.21

I loved the use of a life grid in a research project from the University of Lincoln; it visually showed the highs and lows of doctoral study and what we all experience as PGRs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.15

Our presentation of Steve’s study results was well received and I heard some really useful feedback about my research proposal. Dr Gill Houston from UKCGE chaired our session and said we should come back to present the results of my research in 2020. I’m so glad my supervisor provided me with the opportunity to practice presenting and to promote my own research. I’ve had the chance to exchange ideas and build relationships with some great contacts.

17.21

I’m so glad I took the time out of studying to attend the conference, the experience was invaluable. It’s reassuring to know as a researcher that you are working in an exciting, up-and-coming topic area, but also as a doctoral student to hear the collaborative efforts of the HEI sector, policy makers and researchers to promote wellbeing and encourage a positive postgraduate research experience.

Centre for Qualitative Research Update

BU research, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized

CQR’s webpages have now migrated to the new Centres and Institutes pages of the Bournemouth University website.  We are in the progress of refreshing and updating the new pages, but you can still connect to the old CQR webpages, at least for the time-being. It is here that you can find links to many of the specialisations of members including

Humanising Health and Social Care; 

Novel and Innovative Research Methodologies;  

Performative Social Science and Arts-led Research;

Narrative and Biographic Research

CQR News

Humanisation Conference

Humanising Care, Health & Wellbeing
13-14th June 2019

The Humanisation approach is supported by working practices which encourage connection to personal experience and research approaches which privilege subjective experience and knowing. Organised and led by CQR’s Deputy Director, Caroline Ellis-Hill.

CQR Members presenting at the Conference include: Camila Devis-Rozental, Caroline Ellis-Hill, Chantel Cox, Clare Gordon, Karen Rees, Lee Ann Fenge, Liz Norton, and Sally Lee.

Publications

CQR Members, Associates, and Doctoral Students are also busy writing. Below, just a taster from a range of members’ recent wide variety of methods and subject matter, now in press or about to be. CQR members come from across FHSS departments and several other BU Faculties. CQR and CEL have particular synergies around creativity in research and education. Many faculty claim membership in both Centres!

Assoc. Member Lee-Ann Fenge:

Fenge, L., Oakley, L., Taylor, B. and Beer, S. (in press) The impact of sensitive research on the researcher: preparedness and positionality, International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Fenge, L., Melacca, D, Lee, S. and Rosenorn-Lanng, E. (in press) Older peoples’ preferences and challenges when using digital technology: a systematic review with particular reference to digital games, International Journal of Education and Ageing

Fenge, L. Cutts, W. and Seagrave, J. 2018. Understanding homelessness through poetic inquiry: looking into the shadows, Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 19 (3), 119-133

BU Visiting Prof Catherine Hennessy:

Hennessy, C.H. and Means, R. (2018). “Connectivity of Older People in Rural Areas”, Chapter 8 in A. Walker (ed.) The New Dynamics of Ageing, Bristol: Policy Press.

Member Camilla Devis-Rozental:

Devis-Rozental.C. (2018). Developing Socio-Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education Scholars. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Member Jo Thurston:

Thurston, J., 2020. Opening a Door to a Private World: Using Auto/biographical Methodology to Explore Health Experience. SAGE Methods Cases.

Assoc. Member Carly Stewart:

Sparkes, A. C. & Stewart, C. 2019. Stories as actors causing trouble in lives: a dialogical narrative analysis of a competitive cyclist and the fall from grace of Lance Armstrong. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 

Stewart, C., Woodward, M. and Gough, R., 2019. ‘I’ve drawn, like, someone who was the world’: drawings as embodied gestures of lived yoga experience. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.

CQR Director Kip Jones, Member Jo Thurston, Assoc. Member Louise Oliver

Thurston and Oliver prepare for the interview

Jones was invited by Sage Publications’ MethodSpace to write a blog article for their June/July Special Issue on Creativity. Kip transcribed his interview on biographic research conducted by CQR members, Joanna Thurston and Louise Oliver. The pair interviewed Jones, along with several other academics, for their film, “It’s not research, it’s just stories!”  The film was screened at the British Sociological Association Auto/Biography Study Group Conference in December 2018. Kip Jones discusses “Biography, Auto-biography, and Creativity” in the MethodSpace blog piece.

Assoc. Member Lorraine Brown:

Kichuk, A; Brown, L; Ladkin, A 2019 Talent pool exclusion: the hotel employee perspective International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Member Jenny Hall:

Crowther, A. Stephen & J. Hall (2019) Association of psychosocial–spiritual experiences around childbirth and subsequent perinatal mental health outcomes: an integrated review, Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology.

Assoc. Members Janet Scammell, Vanessa Heaslip, Karen Cooper

Rosser, E., Scammell, J., Heaslip, V., White, S., Phillips, J., Cooper, K., Donaldson, I., Hemingway, A., (2019). Caring values in undergraduate nurse students: a qualitative longitudinal study. Nurse Education Today.

Member Michele Board, Associate Member Vanessa Heaslip

Board, M., Pigott, L., Olive, H. and Heaslip, V., 2019. Better Together – A Day Hospital’s move towards Integrated care. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation.

CQR Members Presenting and Video Conferencing

Kip Jones held a successful video session for the recent Social Fiction Conference at the Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives at the University of Manchester. He will be conducting another session via video link with postgrad students at Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education in Kazakhstan in a few weeks’ time. Both sessions centre around the award-winning short film, RUFUS STONE and Jones’ part in creating it.

CQR Deputy Director Caroline Ellis-Hill:

Ellis-Hill C, Lamont –Robinson C & Galvin K (2019) Sustaining wellbeing after a stroke: reflections on humanising lifeworld processes within an Arts and Health group – HeART of stroke EACS conference – Sustainable Caring for Health and Wellbeing Oct 1st -3rd 2019 Åbo Akademi University, Vaasa, Finland

Paglioni M, Ellis-Hill C, Board M and Branney, J and Valentine J (2019) Exploring the experience of older people who attend a hospital …  The British Society of Gerontology 48th Annual Conference:  University of Liverpool 10 -12 July 2019.

Doctoral student, Charlotte Clayton, has a poster accepted for presentation about her PhD research fort the University of Southampton conference, ‘Pregnancy, Maternity and the Self’ 21st June.

Assoc. Member Trevor Hearing presented:

“The Scholarly Studio: The Application of the Television Studio as a Performative Research Tool” at: Creative Practice Research in the Age of NeoLiberal Hopelessness 10-12 May 2018 University of Bedfordshire. 

CQR members Lee-Ann Fenge, Kip Jones, Vanessa Heaslip Took part in the Charity Research Showcase at Bournemouth U.

Participants discussed their research with the charity sector and a wide range of charity partners.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!

Following on from yet another successful year of CQR Lunchtime Seminars, it is time now for CQR members, Associate Members and Doctoral Associates, to be thinking of ideas for seminars for the next academic year. The theme for the year will be: “Methods to Our Madness!”  Informal talks followed by interactive discussions are the order of the day!

There certainly will NOT be time to explain a whole research method!  Instead, presenters are asked to informally talk about how they decided on a method for a piece of research, and perhaps how that worked out (or not!) for them.  CQR audiences are particularly interested in what we might call the application of ‘Creative Methods” in research! 

CQR members are asked to submit ideas now as it takes time to organise the calendar for these ahead of time. Please send your thoughts via email to Kip.

 

 

Photo of the week

BU research, Doctoral College, PG research, Research news, Uncategorized

The photo of the week series is a weekly series featuring photos taken by our academics and students for our Research Photography Competition, which provides a snapshot of some of the incredible research undertaken across the BU community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s photo of the week, ‘Happy Place,’ is by Chloe Casey, a PGR student from the faculty of Health and Social Sciences.

This photograph represents my ‘happy place’ where I escape my all-consuming doctoral research. The PhD experience is said to be difficult, autonomous and characterised by high workloads and pressure, so it is important that postgraduate researchers are encouraged to prioritise their own well-being throughout the journey. There has been much interest in the mental health of undergraduate students but there is limited research exploring factors underpinning the mental well-being of postgraduate research students specifically. However, preliminary results suggest a high risk of stress, anxiety and burnout in this population. It is documented that the organisational stressors that doctoral students experience can impact academic performance and attrition, but these require further exploration. Postgraduate researchers are often part of wider research teams and their output provides scientific advancement, societal and institutional benefits therefore programme attrition can pose significant personal and financial costs. Our research is concerned with exploring and understanding the promotion of well-being in doctoral students and developing methods to promote their mental health and resilience so they are best supported to thrive academically, achieve their personal goals and successfully complete their planned research.