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Dr Mel Hughes presents at a Swedish research network Center for Evidence-based Psychosocial Interventions (CEPI) seminar

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Dr Mel Hughes, from the Centre for Seldom Heard Voices, was asked by Urban Markström and Ulla-Karin to join them as part of an advisory board for a project, for which they have received a six-year research grant regarding service user involvement in community mental health.

All researchers in the research program, called called ‘UserInvolve’ are members of a Swedish research network called Centre for Evidence-based Psychosocial Interventions (CEPI). A couple of times a year, they arrange seminars, where they introduce current themes or discuss a variety of ongoing projects. Participating are both senior and junior researchers, and people with lived experience of mental illness (often representatives from service user organisations).

Mel was invited to present at the seminar series on 10th November 2021 and the session was really well received and triggered a great discussion on parity of participation and how we need to change the research system to make involvement more inclusive. The day after the event, Ulla-Karin said ‘talk in the hallways today is that people are very enthusiastic and inspired by your talk on CEPI, yesterday’.

Mel is now working with Ulla-Karin and other colleagues to Guest edit a Special Issue of the British Journal of Social Work on The Voice and Influence of people with lived experience.

Well done, Mel!

This week’s FMC research process seminar: Combining Research with Filmmaking. Tuesday 30th Nov at 2pm on Zoom

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Once again you are all invited to join us for an hour of talking research process.

This week, it’s: Combining Research with Filmmaking – by Prof Roman Gerodimos

In this session we will look at ways of using film to communicate research, using research to inform film-making, but also using filmmaking and creative media practice as a field of research. Drawing on my recent films (https://www.edgeofthepresent.com/), I will explore different formats: the essay film, the documentary, and the historically informed live-action fiction film; how to maximise Fusion synergies between research and filmmaking, including co-creation, learning resources, public engagement, and feeding into grants; as well as reflecting on the challenges of working with little or no resource, crowdfunding, engaging stakeholders and building communities of viewers.

We can use the Q&A to discuss how these formats might work for your own research. 

Tuesday 30th November at 2pm on Zoom

https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/9292103478?pwd=UzJnNTNQWDdTNldXdjNWUnlTR1cxUT09

Meeting ID: 929 210 3478

Passcode: rps!4fmc

All welcome. Hope to see you there!

 

Peer-reviewing ten years on

Featured academics, Guidance, international, Publishing, Research communication, research integrity, Uncategorized, writing

The process of peer review is widely recognised as the key element of quality control in academic publishing and the scientific community more generally.  Peer review is the critical appraisal of one’s work by fellow scholars, who read and comment on your manuscript and offered a verdict on its quality, rigour, originality, style, completeness, etc. etc.

Peer reviewers are typically experts in your field, if not your topic, or who have expertise in the methods you applied or the population or are you studied.  They are also academics often with busy day jobs, who act as unpaid peer reviewers, and as journal editors for that matter.  Peer reviewers are with full-time jobs who give up their free time to review for academic journals.  A recent article by Aczel and colleagues (2021) reported that reviewers across the globe spent over 100 million hours on peer reviewing for free in 2020, the estimated value of this equated to nearly £300 million in the UK alone.  This quantifies in some of my feelings I wrote about a decade ago now in a BU Research Blog with the title ‘Peer review and bust academics’.

However, with the ever-growing number of health and social science journals the requests for reviewing seem to grow relentlessly.  This month alone (November 2021) I received twenty or 21 requests to review.  I have reviewed three manuscripts for Birth, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, and The Journal of International Development, but I had to reject or ignore many more (see Table 1).  I usually do my reviews over the weekend.  One weekend this month I could not review because I had to prepare materials for the external auditor who came to visit Bournemouth University for a project recently completed, and this weekend I could not find the time because I’m proof-reading two PhD chapters (and writing this blog).

I leave you with some food for thought: academics spent time applying for research funding, then apply for the ethical approval, do the research, we write up the findings, and write blogs about the process!

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

 

Reference:

Aczel, B., Szaszi, B., Holcombe, A.O. (2021) A billion-dollar donation: estimating the cost of researchers’ time spent on peer review. Res Integr Peer Rev 6, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-021-00118-2.

Memories of Nursing – dataset available on BORDaR

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The transcripts and audio recordings from the Memories of Nursing oral history project have been added to BORDaR (BU’s research data repository), opening up a rich source of material for future research! We asked the research team to share a bit more about the project and the data collected:

What’s most exciting about the research?

As nurses, we have the privilege of engaging with many aspects of life and make connections with people and their families, in a wide variety of contexts. This project draws on the rich narratives of nurses who retired to Dorset from a number of areas around the UK and who practiced throughout the world. Through the interviews, we can share their experiences of change, innovation, heartache and laughter. The interviews with 18 participants offer a window into challenges and practices of the past and therefore offer insights to inform the future of nursing.

What do you see as the benefits of making your data available?

This rich data set comprises interviews undertaken with 18 retired nurses totalling several hours and offers feminist researchers, social historians, oral history researchers and, of course, nurses access to a unique archive collection.

The variety of topics covered can be viewed as a whole or provide insights into specific aspects of nursing practice that can by examined across participants and across time. A number of participants practiced during the second world war and through the inception of the NHS, offering insights into care at a time of crucial change in the UK. These stories offer a unique insight into the life of nurses in the second the part of the twentieth century.

Links

Transcripts and audio recordings on BORDaR: https://doi.org/10.18746/bmth.data.00000184

The Memories of Nursing website: https://memoriesofnursing.uk/

Research data management library guide: https://libguides.bournemouth.ac.uk/research-data-management

 

Webinar on ‘Theory in [Tourism] Research’

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Hi, I’m Dr. Miguel Moital, Principal Academic in Events Management within the Department of Sport & Events Management, Bournemouth University Business School.

Last Thursday I had the honour to contribute to the CinTurs Seminars 2021 series, with a presentation on “Theory in (tourism) research”. The essence of the topic is that by understanding the theory behind using theory in (tourism) research, researchers will be better equipped to achieve high levels of theorisation, with all the benefits that ensue.

CinTurs in a government accredited research centre affiliated to the Algarve University, Portugal, whose mission focuses on the development and transfer of knowledge towards the sustainable development of tourism destinations and the well-being of tourists, visited communities and employees in the tourism industry. CinTurs is funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), and had the highest grade among the Tourism, Hospitality and Hotel management R&D centres in the last FCT evaluation cycle. The research centre consists of almost 40 active researchers and over 50 PhD students.

More than 70 people registered for the webinar, which included time for questions at the end. Some of the material had been presented before at the 2020 and 2021 Annual Conferences of the Brazilian Association of Tourism Research and Post-graduation (ANPTUR), in association with Professor Verônica Mayer of Fluminense Federal University (Rio de Janeiro).

I thoroughly enjoyed sharing some of the material collated and developed over the past few years. I also managed to provide a professional and interactive digital experience by using my state-of-the-art-digital learning experiences production studio that I have set up at home (if you want to know what I am talking about, watch this video followed by this one). I used a highly animated and colourful powerpoint presentation, providing a more guided narrative, which is vital when delivering content virtually. I also branded the event using the ‘supersource’ feature of the ATEM Mini Extreme video switcher. This feature allows me to bring myself and the presentation on to a single image over a background picture, which in this instance contained institutional logos and the name of the event.

The combination of content and narratives presented in the webinar is still quite new and developing all the time, so you never know how participants will react to it. This is particularly the case when there is a mixed audience made up of undergraduate, masters and PhD students, ECRs and experienced researchers, as was the case of this Webinar.

I am pleased to say that feedback was extremely positive.

Professor João Albino Silva, Full Professor at the Algarve University, said:

Congratulations on the excellent lesson you delivered this afternoon. It is not an easy topic but the clarity of your explanations is a result of the substantial investment you have done in this area. Without a doubt, your contribution to our Seminar series is very important for us, and in particular for our PhD students.

Dr. Maria João Carneiro, Assistant Professor at Aveiro University, commented that:

I enjoyed the Webinar very much. The content was very interesting and useful. Everything was very clear, with enriching and interesting perspectives, supported by very clear examples. 

Dominique Carrignton, a BU undergraduate student that I supervise, said:

I thought it was really helpful and useful! It was very engaging with the interactive slides and helped to visually see the process of theory. You covered a lot of the key content in a short time, finding the right balance of material with examples. It helped me think about where my research idea fits for sure!

The 90-minute webinar focused on the following themes:

  1. Why theory is essential in (tourism) research
  2. The role and functions of theory
  3. The types of theory
  4. The components of a theory
  5. The three levels of theoretical development
  6. Abstract thinking and theorisation

The content presented in the webinar is part of a wider initiative within my Dissertation Academy project (underpinned on this Youtube Channel), which involves developing a videobook on dissertation writing. Besides more complete versions of the topics above, other topics related to ‘theory in research’ already included in the table of contents of the planned videobook include:

  • The role of context in theory development (opportunity context and suitability context)
  • Trade-offs between breadth and depth
  • Theory, research and research design
  • Theory & Impact
  • Evaluating theories

Some of these topics are ‘mini-videobooks’ on their own, given the richness of the topic.

Launched Today: Making research matter Chief Nursing Officer for England’s strategic plan for research

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The Chief Nursing Officer for England`s  `Making Research Matter Strategic Plan for Research` is being launched today. The plan is for all nurses working everywhere across health, social care, academia and policy development in England. The strategic plan will provide a vision for and begin the process of creating an inclusive accessible research career framework for nurses. BU`s Professor Ann Hemingway was involved in informing the plan. You can access the summary and the full document today which includes the implementation plan to 2023. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/B0880-cno-for-englands-strategic-plan-fo-research.pdf

This Sunday is a midwifery day

Featured academics, international, NHS, Research news, Uncategorized

Today Sunday 21st November was a midwifery dominated day today.  This lunchtime a interdisciplinary team from CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health) at BU and the University of Exeter submitted a research proposal to the ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) on Midwife-Led Birthing Centres in Low- and Middle-Income  Countries.   As a personal observation: whoever thought that setting the submission deadline for a Sunday was a good idea has no respect for researchers’ work-life balance!

This afternoon many of us attended the  March with Midwives vigils which were held nationwide in the UK to highlight issues with midwifery staffing and working conditions.  The March with Midwives vigil took place in 50 towns and cities, as a vigil to make the general public and politicians aware about the maternity crisis.  In Poole Park it attracted over fifty people.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH

Free training sessions for dementia researchers

BU research, conferences, Featured academics, international, Knowledge Exchange, Research news, Research Training, Training, Uncategorized

Bournemouth University is involved in a wider collaboration which organises the Advanced Dementia Research Conference (ADRC 2021).  The conference is delivered online today and tomorrow (19th-20th November).  ADRC 2021 is led by Dr. Brijesh Sathian, BU Visiting Faculty, based in the Geriatric Medicine Department, Rumailah Hospital, in Doha, Qatar.  Saturday morning Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen will be delivering a session on qualitative research, preceded by a session on mixed-methods research from Prof. Padam Simkhada, also BU Visiting Faculty, from the University of Huddersfield.

The programme shown is for Day 2 tomorrow.   All sessions today and tomorrow are free to attend!  You can register here! Please, note that advertised times a Qatar times which three hours ahead of the UK at the moment.  

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

 

FMC research process seminar this Tuesday. Exploring the ‘black box’ of Google News algorithms: a methodology

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You are warmly invited to this week’s FMC research process seminar.

Tuesday 16 November, 2-3pm.

Exploring the ‘black box’ of Google News algorithms: a methodology

Prof Dan Jackson (BU)

The algorithms underpinning search results and recommendations – the cornerstone of navigating the web – have been described as “the great ‘known unknown’ of search engines” (Ørmen 2016, p.110). At the same time, news consumers are increasingly reliant on algorithms to sort, organise, and recommend news to us based on information that they collect from us. Given the normative implications of such a role, it’s therefore crucial we research the outcomes of algorithmic personalisation, especially in news. Methodologically, this is not a straightforward task, though, and one that communication scholars are still coming to terms with. In this presentation I will walk through the mixed methods research design employed in our study of news personalisation in Google News. First, in a quasi-experimental design, we asked a diverse set of participants to search Google News for four search terms and report the first five stories they were recommended on each term.  We then conducted a manual content analysis on the stories recommended by Google News for our search terms (N=192), focusing on their favourability towards the search term in question. After briefly summarising the outcomes of the study, I will then reflect on these methods and how we might apply them elsewhere.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/9292103478?pwd=UzJnNTNQWDdTNldXdjNWUnlTR1cxUT09

Meeting ID: 929 210 3478

Passcode: rps!4fmc

Bournemouth research cited in The Sunday Times

BU research, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing

Today Bournemouth University’s research on Nepali migrant workers and kidney problems was cited in The Sunday Times. In the preparation for the Qatar 2022 men’s football world cup The Sunday Times published an article under the title ‘Dying for the World Cup‘.

Dr. Pramod Regmi and Dr. Nirmal Aryal were awarded funding from GCRF (The Global Challenges Research Fund) and Bournemouth University’s QR fund.  This work resulted in an editorial highlighting that low-skilled migrant workers in the Middle Wast and Malaysia are at a disproportionately higher risk of kidney problems. The working conditions are often Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult (referred at as the 3Ds) include physically demanding work, exposure to a hot environment, dehydration, chemical exposures, excessive use of pain killers, and lifestyle factors (such as restricted water intake and a high intake of alcohol/sugary drinks) which may precipitate them to acute kidney injuries and subsequent chronic kidney disease [1].  And recently, a national survey of nephrologists (kidney specialists) on their perceptions of the size of the problem of kidney health in Nepali migrant workers [2].

 

 

References:

  1. Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 21(1): 15-17.
  2. Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P., KC, R. K., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 12(12), 126–132.

 

Not going in!

BU research, Doctoral College, Featured academics, humanities, international, Publishing, Research news, Research Training, Uncategorized, writing

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the online workshop ‘500 Years of Childbirth’ together with by CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health) colleges Dr. Juliet Wood and Dr. Laura Iannuzzi. The session ‘500 Years of Childbirth’ was part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities which runs 11–20 November 2021.  History has always been a passion of me, and the presenters, Julia Martins and Carly Lokrheim, linked early modern history with childbirth in the 21st century. 

This wonderful session reminded me of my draft chapter I wrote for my PhD thesis three decades ago.  My thesis A social or medical model of childbirth? : comparing the arguments in Grampian (Scotland) and the Netherlands at the University of Aberdeen was supervised by Dr. Peter McCaffery.  Peter wisely said to me: “You really needed to write this chapter to make sense of the history of midwifery in your head, but it does not really fit the thesis.”  He added: “You have too many words already.  You know that it is not going in?” The material of this history chapter was not lost as I used loads of text from it it in the introduction section for a textbook [1].  The section ‘History of Midwifery: Introduction’ became part of our edited volume Midwifery and the Medicalization of Childbirth: Comparative Perspectives (Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Huntington, New York, USA) [2].

It is a message I occasionally repeat to my own PhD students.  Under the circumstances I may fing myself saying things like “This is something you had to get of your chest, or you had to write it to make sense of it, but as it stands do you think it fits your argument?”  Or more subtly in a supervision meeting, tell us: “What does this section add to your overall story in the thesis?”

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

References:

  1. van Teijlingen, E. (2004) History of Midwifery: Introduction, In: van Teijlingen, E. Lowis, G., et al. (eds.), Midwifery & the Medicalization of Childbirth, NY: Nova Sci., pages: 43-52.
  2. van Teijlingen , E., Lowis, G., McCaffery, P. & Porter, M. (eds.) (2004) Midwifery and the Medicalization of Childbirth: Comparative Perspectives, New York: Nova Science. [Paperback ISBN: 1-59454-0314].

Research process seminars are back. Starting with ‘the how’s and why’s of writing research monographs’

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We are delighted to invite you to the first of this years’ research process seminars. Hosted in FMC but open to all.
We’ve got a great lineup of talks coming your way, featuring a mix of internal and external colleagues, with different disciplinary and methodological influences.
For those of you unfamiliar with them, they are 60 min research seminars focussed on the process of doing research – often research methods but also including publishing, writing, time management etc. The idea here is that the speaker takes us through the anatomy of the project focussing particularly on the process – the challenges, the successes, and the failures. For the audience, we walk away with a practical application of a method or approach we may not be familiar with or may not have applied in this way before. Our ambition is to make us all better researchers as a result.
Presentations are typically 30 mins followed by 30 mins Q&A. They are always a friendly and informal atmosphere.
This week’s session is on book publishing. We are delighted to welcome FMC colleagues Darren Lilleker and Chris Pullen, who collectively have published 10 research monographs.
Please note the start time of 3pm (our standard start time is 2pm on Tuesdays)
Tuesday 9 November at 3pm

Prof Darren Lilleker and Dr Chris Pullen

The how’s and why’s of writing research monographs

Why write monographs? What makes a good research monograph? And what is the process of writing a book? In this session, Darren Lilleker and Chris Pullen – together responsible for 10 monographs – will talk about their experiences of writing monographs. From the big ideas that drive the project, to the minor details that make the difference, Darren and Chris will share their knowledge, experiences and top tips of book publishing. This talk will be of interest to anyone with ambitions to write a monograph, or who is in the early stages of writing one.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Dr Joanne Mayoh & Dr Ian Jones publish new article In The Journal of Medical Internet Research

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Dr Joanne Mayoh and Dr Ian Jones have had a new article “Young People’s Experiences of Engaging With Fitspiration on Instagram: Gendered Perspective” published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR; Impact Factor 5.43) https://www.jmir.org/2021/10/e17811/. Their study used a cross-sectional web-based survey (N=1213) to explore how young men and women engage in fitspiration content on Instagram, and found significant gendered differences in consumption behaviour. Their findings suggested that female fitspiration consumers engage with content that reinforces the feminine thin but shapely ideal, whereas male users seek out content that reinforces the masculine muscular ideal. Furthermore, male users are more likely to engage actively with content (eg, posting fitspiration content), while female users are more likely to engage passively (eg, scrolling through accounts, posts, or images). Here is an infographic to demonstrate their key findings.

Thursday: come and see us outside BG117

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BU PIER and BUCRU are holding a drop in event on 4th November 10am-3pm, outside BG117.

Come and join us for an informal chat about getting the public involved in your research.  (There might be some chocolate too).

Do you have a question you’d like to ask members of the public?  An event you’d like them to attend?  Come along and sign up to VOICE, a new collaboration and digital platform for coordinating and supporting public involvement in research.

An increasing number of researchers across BU are involving and wanting to involve people with lived experience in shaping and informing research. VOICE@BU brings together the public involvement work of the PIER (Public Involvement in Education and Research) Partnership, BUCRU (BU Clinical Research Unit) and the Dorset and Salisbury office of the NIHR Research Design Service South West (RDS SW) to support and facilitate public involvement in research at BU.

VOICE@BU includes:

Mel Hughes, Pete Atkins and Angela Warren from the BU PIER Partnership

Helen Allen and Louise Ward from BUCRU and the NIHR Research Design Service South West (RDS SW)

Colleagues from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences based research centres e.g. ADRC

Colleagues from BU Research Development & Support (RDS) Team (for coordinating public engagement)

In May we ran a demonstration of VOICE you can view the recording here

To summarise, researchers can:

  • Easily and quickly register for VOICE
  • Submit an opportunity request to involve members of the public in their research
  • Use the digital tools the platform offers to involve members of the public in research
  • Promote workshops/focus groups
  • Facilitate online discussions
  • Promote opportunities for the public to join steering groups
  • Online surveys & polls
  • Set timed challenges and encourage ideas from the community (bring your ideas and questions along and chat through at our drop in)
  • Set up a closed group to communicate, share documents and support an established public involvement group
  • Communicate with VOICE members regarding specific opportunities
  • Access and share support and learning resources to help patient and public involvement and engagement activities

You can register with VOICE and explore what is available and email us: voice@bournemouth.ac.uk to discuss how we can help get the public involved in your research and/or promote an event/opportunity to VOICE members.

 

Come and see us on Thursday 4th November 10am-3pm, outside BG117

PGR Supervisory Lunchbites | Chairing Research Degree Viva Voce Examinations

Doctoral College, Featured, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research Supervision, Training, Uncategorized

Hosted by the Doctoral College, these one hour online lunch bite sessions supplement the regular New and Established Supervisory Development Sessions and are aimed at all academic staff who are new to, or experienced at, supervising research degree students and are interested in expanding their knowledge of a specific aspect or process in doctoral supervision.

Each session will be led by a senior academic who will introduce the topic, and staff will benefit from discussions aimed at sharing best practice from across BU. Bookings are arranged by Organisational Development.

This session is focused on expanding individuals’ knowledge on the processes and responsibilities involved in chairing research degree viva voce examinations. This discussion will be led by Professor Carol Clarke, FHSS.

Staff attending this session, staff will: 

  • have gained additional knowledge of the role of viva voceexaminers
  • have gained additional knowledge of the role of the viva voceChair
  • be aware of the relevant sections of the Code of Practice for Research Degrees

Further details on the session as well as information on future lunchbite sessions can also be found on the staff intranet.

Date: 9 November 2021

Time: 12:00 – 13:00

To book a place on this session please complete the booking form.

Further details and future sessions can also be found on the Supervisory Development Lunchbite Sessions staff intranet page.