BU Research Blog

November 6, 2018

Good Clinical Practice refresher – Monday 12th November

BU research, Clinical Governance, NHS, Research Ethics, Research Training, Training Suzy Wignall

Are you currently undertaking research within the NHS and your Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is due to expire? Or has it expired recently?

GCP certification lasts for two years, so if your training is due to expire, has expired, or you want to validate your learning, then take advantage of the upcoming refresher half day session, taking place at Poole Hospital on Monday 12th November, 9am – 12:30pm.

Spaces are still remaining, so if you’d like to enrol, get in touch with Research Ethics or the Wessex Clinical Research Network.

October 12, 2018

Good luck today to our DEALTS 2 finalists for the 9th National Dementia Care Awards!

BU research, Research news sgardener

The Dementia Education And Learning Through Simulation 2 (DEALTS 2) programme has been shortlisted for the 9^th National Dementia Care Awards 2018 in the Best Dementia Training Initiative category, which recognises the vital role of effective training in dementia care. Today is the judging day and the award will be made to an individual or organisation that can demonstrate the value of a training initiative which has been successfully implemented.

“I was over the moon when I found out DEALTS 2 had been shortlisted, it is a real honour to be a finalist in the 2018 competition,” says Dr Michelle Heward, 1/4 of the DEALTS 2 research team. “We had been nominated by a colleague from another university who completed an application.”

The DEALTS 2 programme is a national simulation-based dementia education programme for hospital staff with regular contact with people with dementia. The programme is an innovative, low cost, high impact training toolkit which aims to facilitate staff to consider experiences from the point of view of a person living with dementia, enabling staff to see beyond the diagnosis and see the person.

These resources can be adapted to be relevant in different settings and have been designed using low key simulation scenarios, which will allow staff to make positive changes to how they care and support people with dementia. The training also integrates theory into practice introducing the Humanising Values Framework (HVF) a philosophical lens developed at BU that identifies potentially humanising and dehumanising care and support. The HVF enables trainers to support staff morals as well as improve the care of people with dementia.

“The team has worked hard to deliver 13 train-the-trainer sessions nationally across England in 2017 with 196 trainers attending. The toolkit has been developed iteratively to encapsulate feedback from dementia specialists, trainers and informal carers,” says Dr Heward.

Click here to find out more about the DEALTS 2 programme, or get in touch with Dr Michelle Heward here. The DEALTS team includes Professor Jane Murphy, Dr Michele Board and Ashley Spriggs.

October 2, 2018

BA Small Grants – call open 5th Oct 2018

Funding opportunities, Guidance, humanities, pre-award, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework, Training apekalski

The call for the next round of BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants will open 5^th October 2018 and close 5pm on Wednesday 7^th November 2018 and is aimed at Early Career Researcher and/or pump priming purposes.

It is strongly advised that you attend the British Academy small guidance session on 9^th October 2018, where the Funding Development team will go through:

The British Academy scheme notes for applicants
The British Academy FAQs
The British Academy Assessment Criteria
As well as a chance to ask questions from recent British Academy award winners

After the session you will have the chance to sit with a Research Facilitator and Funding Development Officer, to go through costs and your draft proposal. As well as the opportunity to have your proposal reviewed by an external application reviewer.

If you can’t attend this session, then we ask you to submit your intention to bid form to your Funding Development Officer by 9^th October 2018, after this date applications will be moved to the summer round.

The British Academy have provided updated guidance on the small grants – BA scheme notes for applicants and BA FAQs . They have asked that all applicants read the documentation carefully before starting their application.

Timeline

The call closes at 5pm on Wednesday 7^th November 2018.

Date	Action
5 October 2018	Scheme Opens
9^th October	RKEO British Academy Guidance session and/or Intention to bid forms to be submitted to your faculty funding development officer
4^th November midnight	Nominated referee supporting statement to be completed via FlexiGrant
4^th November midnight	Your final application must be submitted on FlexiGrant by this date at the latest
5^th – 7^th November 2018	Institutional checks to take place by RKEO
7^th November 2018	Submission

Any queries please contact Alexandra Pekalski

September 29, 2018

Ouch! Missing reference

BU research, Doctoral College, Featured academics, international, Publishing, Research communication, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

One of the first rules of drafting a scientific paper is that one cites the key literature in the respective field. So as someone who teaches people how to write and publish in this week’s experience of getting a paper rejected was not great, if not disheartening! Earlier this week we submitted a research paper to the Journal of Travel Medicine on a study of the health and well-being of female migrant workers in Nepal. This is high quality journal in which we have published before, including one paper on migrants’ health [1-3].

Two days later the journal editor emailed us to say: “”We feel that the scope of your paper would not justify a full original article in the Journal of Travel Medicine”, which is, in our opinion, a fair judgement. My co-authors and I between us have over 300 papers published and most have been rejected or at least we have been asked for a resubmission, so nothing new here. What was more upsetting than the rejection itself was the additional comment. The editor added:

“The authors should ideally include the two following references:

……(first reference omitted) …. +

Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: a review of the literature.

Simkhada PP, Regmi PR, van Teijlingen E, Aryal N. J Travel Med. 2017 Jul 1;24(4). doi: 10.1093/jtm/tax021. Review.

We agree with the editor that we should have included the two listed key papers. Crucially, it is more than a little mistake to have missed the second paper since we wrote it ourselves. There are many lessons to be learnt from this: (a) check you have covered the key literature in your paper, either in the Background section and/or the Discussion; (b) don’t underestimate the importance of your own work; (c) you’re never too old to make mistakes (and to learn from them); (d) be thankful for good editors and reviewers; (e) do what you advise others to do; (f) etc. ………………

In shame,

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Hind, C., Bond, C.M., Lee, A., van Teijlingen E. (2008) Needs assessment study for community pharmacy travel medicine services, Journal of Travel Medicine 15(5): 328-334.
Bhatta, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Maybin, S. (2009) A questionnaire study of VSO volunteers: Health risk & problems encountered. Journal of Travel Medicine 16(5): 332-337.
Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: A review of the literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24 (4): 1-9.

September 27, 2018

Publishing systematic and scoping reviews to improve your research profile

BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Doctoral College, Featured academics, Fusion themes, PG research, REF Subjects, Research assessment, Research communication, Research Training, Training, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

With the forthcoming REF 2021 in mind we would like to encourage both staff and postgraduate students to consider writing up their literature reviews as journal articles. Systematic and scoping reviews are a great way of publishing quality publications. They are highly valued as REF submissions, especially, but not only, in the health field.

There is plenty of support at Bournemouth University: from academic colleagues, with vast experience in writing reviews, to the library team, who can advise on, for example, developing your systematic search strategy and which databases to search.

You can start with publishing your review question and research strategy on PROSPERO, international prospective register of systematic reviews. We would like to highlight just one BU example in the field of the social sciences. FHSS PhD student Orlanda Harvey published her proposed review ‘Support for people who use anabolic androgenic steroids: an investigation into what they want and what they currently access’ late last year on PROSPERO [1].

You might like to have a look at reviews published by Bournemouth University staff, which can be found by searching BURO, our institutional repository of research outputs. Moreover, BU academics have published several methods papers on the doing and writing systematic reviews [2-4].

Information about searching the literature for systematic reviews is available on this guide by the library team.

Other pages with useful information include:

Guidance from the Centre for Review and Dissemination
The Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews
The PRISMA statement: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
The PRISMA extension for scoping reviews

Hopefully we have encouraged you to think about publishing your literature reviews as separate articles, and to seek help early in that process!

José López Blanco & Edwin van Teijlingen

For further information, please contact:

José López Blanco, Faculty Librarian (Health and Social Sciences), Library & Learning Support, Academic Services at tel 67350 or email: hsslibteam@bournemouth.ac.uk

References:

Harvey, O., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E., Keen., S. (2017) Support for people who use anabolic androgenic steroids: an investigation into what they want and what they currently access. PROSPERO 2017 CRD42017075199 Available from: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?ID=CRD42017075199
van Teijlingen E., Napper, M., Bruce, J., Ireland. J. (2006) Systematic reviews in midwifery, RCM Midwives Journal 9(5): 186-188.
van Teijlingen, ER, Simkhada, B., Ireland J., Simkhada P., Bruce J. (2012) Evidence-based health care in Nepal: The importance of systematic reviews, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 1(4): 114-118.
Stewart, F., Fraser, C., Robertson, C., Avenell, A., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D. (2014) Are men difficult to find? Identifying male-specific studies in MEDLINE and Embase, Systematics Reviews 3,78.

August 28, 2018

Writing About Methods- 3rd October 2018

BU research, Events, PG research, pre-award, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework, Training, writing apekalski

Join Dr Patrick Brindle from INTO Content on the 3rd October 2018 9:30-16:30 for Writing about Methods course. To book click here

The session will talk about a range of practical approaches they can adopt when writing about methodology in the social sciences. 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.

The course covers:

A range of practical writing strategies for handling methodology
The challenges of writing a PhD methodology chapter or a methods section in a research paper
Writing for qualitative and quantitative research approaches
Understanding different audiences and the needs of different academic markets

By the end of the course participants will:

Better understand who and what ‘methodology writing’ is for
Know the differences and similarities between PhD methods chapters, research paper methods sections and methods books
Understand and reflect on 21 principles (or starting points) of best practice in methodology writing
Focus writing on audience needs and expectations
Be aware of common mistakes and misunderstandings and so avoid them
Reflect on the relationship between methodology writing and other parts of your manuscript
To develop learning and best practice through exercises and examples

This course would be suitable for PhD students, post-docs and junior researchers in the social sciences. To book click here

July 11, 2018

Working as a Student Research Assistant with the ADRC – some thoughts by Dorian Crudgington

BU research, PG research, Public engagement, Research news jbentley

After completing the second year of my Biological Sciences course I wished to gain some formal research experience so I applied to be a Student Research Assistant with the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre at Bournemouth University. Understanding the significance of dementia related problems, I was excited and proud to get involved with research on such a problematic and widespread condition, and to work alongside Professor Jane Murphy.

The project aim was to evaluate the impact and use of a learning resource and training video produced by the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre. I was provided with a well-structured plan for my 4-week project. Principally, this involved collating data from a questionnaire regarding the resource’s usefulness, analysing the results using qualitative methods, and producing a report of the results.

I got stuck in quickly and within hours I had already mastered aspects of Excel and Word I had never used previously. As the work began to develop momentum, data analysis became the next task to be executed. My course has always prioritised quantitative data analysis due to the nature of data usually obtained, and I had no prior experience working with qualitative data. By the end of the third week I had delved into various approaches in the field of qualitative research, and had conducted a thematic analysis of over 400 questionnaire answers.

Prior to this experience, the research process was alien to me. However now I have knowledge of the different stages involved and the fundamental organisational skills required, which has really helped me plan and develop ideas for the independent research project in my final year. I have really enjoyed the project and have developed incredibly useful skills as well as learning about nutritional care for people who have dementia.

July 9, 2018

Research methods in practice: Learning from the ESRC Research Methods Festival 2018

BU research, Research Training, RKE development framework jgavin

Ten Bournemouth University academics attended the ESRC Research Methods Festival held at the University of Bath, 3-5 July 2018. The 8^th biennial meeting attracted around 800 social science researchers at various stages of their careers, from across the range of disciplines and sectors. The festival content spanned seven parallel sessions for the morning, mid-day and afternoon workshops. This brief account is an attendee’s experience of ‘employing learning’ in Research Methods during the festival.

Day 1

The session ‘Meeting the challenges in teaching Research Methods’ (Professor Nind, NCRM, University of Southampton) was an interactive workshop informed by current pedagogical research. In teams we discussed our experiences of the three challenges in Research Methods education, namely: 1. diversity, 2. developing learning and teaching resources, and 3. online teaching.

This was followed by ‘Recent advances in rural health survey methodology’ (Dr Haenssgen, University of Oxford), which allowed me to appreciate current use of accelerometry (e.g. Fitbit) in assessing energy expenditure in communities for my current research study.

The day concluded with a rapid (downhill) run to Bath town centre, a laborious (uphill) run back, and then a nervous gala dinner served with the England vs. Columbia World Cup nail-biter.

Day 2

‘Blog like you mean it’ included tips on research communication and impact. The key-points being: make it topical (e.g. informed by current debates, issues or conversations), guide with sub-headings and look out for new policies for ‘research relevance’ (good examples include the Conversation, LSE Impact and Dementia day-to-day blogs).

Bournemouth University’s own Dr Tula Brannelly had strong attendance for her workshop: ‘Ethics of care in the research process’, which focussed on building solidarity with end-users in research, and how we can plan/create change in our own research.

Regardless of whether you are writing a research proposal, journal paper, teaching handbook or thesis, the session ‘Writing creatively for academia’ made me think of the reader: 1. maintain their interest, 2. engage their emotions, 3. activate memories and, 4. scientifically, keep it evidence-based. These aren’t exclusively applicable to all formats, but can help improve our general written communication and help eradicate bias from our writing. Elsewhere, ‘Innovations in teaching statistics and quantitative methods’ was useful for my own Research Methods teaching in the Department of Sport and Physical Activity.

Wednesday evening was more relaxed than the previous, with a guided walk through Bath town centre. Not only did we learn about Bath as a gambling den, yellow front doors, John Wood the elder, but also ex-resident, Nicolas Cage.

Day 3

The final morning involved: ‘Advances in sociogenomics’ (for general interest) and ‘New developments in qualitative evaluation research’ for healthcare research incorporating quantitative and qualitative data evidence. Both were inspiring and relevant, and importantly, led by postgraduates, to practitioners, to professors. Not all conferences/meetings are so inclusive and accessible.

Finally, I would like to thank Emily Cieciura and RKEO staff for supporting the strong attendance of BU academics at the Research Methods Festival. Similarly to myself, of those BU colleagues that I met, they felt equally as enthused and intellectually-overwhelmed…alas, in an academic, inspired way.

Many thanks,

Dr James Gavin – Academic, exercise physiology

Accompanied by…Aaron Yankholmes, Miguel Moital, Jae Yeon Choe, Michael O’Reagan (FM), Agata Wezyk (SciTech), and presenter Tula Brannelly (FHSS).

ESRC Research Methods Festival 2018

June 13, 2018

Apply for Innovate UK Robotics and AI for safer work residential and funding

BU Challenges, BU research, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities Pengpeng

Innovate UK is offering opportunities for individuals to apply on behalf of their business to attend a 5-day residential innovation lab in September 2018. This innovation lab will allow delegates to work in teams to generate innovative and commercially-viable ideas in the following areas:

robotic structural capabilities
reformable structures
long-range and beyond visual line-of-sight operations
electronics, sensors and photonics for extreme environments
AI, autonomy and situational awareness
mission planning and risk management
systems engineering, including methodologies, verification and validation tools
security, reliability, safety and trust
collaborative robotics and AI systems
long endurance operations
modules that support increased dexterity
locomotion platforms that work extreme environments

In the second stage of the competition, teams that attended the innovation lab will have the opportunity to apply for a share of up to £15 million grant funding for their project.

Please see below a summary of the competition:

Deadline for application: 11 July 2018

Number of places available : 20 to 30

Eligibility: a business, academic, charity, public sector or research and technology organisation based in the UK and intend to carry out the project and exploit the results in the UK

Residential dates : 10 September 2014 – 14 September 2018

Second stage proposal award : £2m – £6m

Second stage proposal start date : January 2019

Please see this link for full details of this funding opportunity.

May 24, 2018

Your ‘Timely Reminder’ – don’t miss these events in June and July!

Events, Research Training, RKE development framework, Training, Uncategorized Dianne Goodman

Every year, the Research & Knowledge Exchange Office, along with internal and external delivery partners, runs over 150 events to support researcher development through the Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework (RKEDF).

Responding to your feedback and by popular request, below are the main events coming up over the next two months – please click on the event titles that are of interest to find out more and reserve your place as soon as possible:

JUNE 2018

Wednesday 6th June – STEAMLab – Virtual problems – See this Blog post on how to Apply for a place

Monday 11th June – Research impact and the Research Excellence Framework (REF): an introduction

Wednesday 13th June – REF 2021 Guidance – Q&A session

Thursday 14th June – Royal Society – Bid Writing Retreat

Wednesday 20th June – BRIAN, Open Access and the Impact Module

Wednesday 27th June – Preparing for Brexit

27-29 June – Writing Academy – Summer

JULY 2018

Wednesday 4th July – US Funding Day (Federal & Charities)

Wednesday 4th July – Targeting high quality journals

Wednesday 4th July – 10 ways to increase the impact of your paper

Wednesday 4th July – Writing an academic paper

Thursday 5th July – Fellowship interview Training – Royal Society

Wednesday 11th July – Introduction to bibliometrics

Wednesday 11th July – Advanced Bibliometrics – Using bibliometrics to understand research impact

10/07/18 – 11/07/18 – Marie Sklodowska Curie – MSCA bid writing retreat (2 days)

Thursday 12th of July – Writing and presenting for non-academic audiences (ECR session) *New*

Monday 23rd July – The Writing Academy – Writing day

Tuesday 24th July – Preparing impact case studies for the Research Excellence Framework: a workshop

To see all the events within the RKEDF and the wider Organisational Development offering, please refer to the handy Calendar of Events.

Additionally if you are a PGR please visit the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme for your own special tailored events.

May 11, 2018

Your ‘Timely Reminder’ – don’t miss these events!

Events, Research Training, RKE development framework Dianne Goodman

Every year, the Research & Knowledge Exchange Office, along with internal and external delivery partners, runs over 150 events to support researcher development through the Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework (RKEDF).

Responding to your feedback and by popular request, below are the main events coming up over the next two months – please click on the event titles that are of interest to find out more and reserve your place as soon as possible:

MAY 2018

Wednesday 16th May – Introducing and Evidencing Research Impact: the Basics

Thursday 17th May – Engaging with policy makers

Friday 18th May – Preparing impact case studies for the Research Excellence Framework: a workshop

Tuesday 22nd May – Writing Academy – Writing Day

Wednesday 23rd May – What is the Research Excellence Framework?

JUNE 2018

Wednesday 6th June – STEAMLab – Virtual problems – See this Blog post on how to Apply for a place

Monday 11th June – Research impact and the Research Excellence Framework (REF): an introduction

Wednesday 13th June – REF 2021 Guidance – Q&A session

Thursday 14th June – Royal Society – Bid Writing Retreat

Wednesday 20th June – BRIAN, Open Access and the Impact Module

Wednesday 27th June – Preparing for Brexit

27-29 June – Writing Academy – Summer

JULY 2018

Wednesday 4th July – US Funding Day (Federal & Charities)

Wednesday 4th July – Targeting high quality journals

Wednesday 4th July – 10 ways to increase the impact of your paper

Wednesday 4th July – Writing an academic paper

Thursday 5th July – Fellowship interview Training – Royal Society

Wednesday 11th July – Introduction to bibliometrics

Wednesday 11th July – Advanced Bibliometrics – Using bibliometrics to understand research impact

10/07/18 – 11/07/18 – MSCA bid writing retreat (2 days)

Thursday 12th of July – Writing and presenting for non-academic audiences (ECR session) *New*

Monday 23rd July – The Writing Academy – Writing day

Tuesday 24th July – Preparing impact case studies for the Research Excellence Framework: a workshop

To see all the events within the RKEDF and the wider Organisational Development offering, please refer to the handy Calendar of Events.

Additionally if you are a PGR please visit the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme for your own special tailored events.

May 8, 2018

Virtual Problems STEAMLab

BU research, Events, Research Training, Uncategorized apekalski

On Wednesday, 6^th June 2018, BU’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will be facilitating a STEAMLab event on Virtual problems.

Which means…?

We’re seeking to come up with novel research which addresses the challenges of new immersive technology.

So, who should attend?

We want anyone who thinks they might have something to contribute, and who is available all day on Wednesday 6th June to come along. We will also be inviting relevant external attendees to contribute to the day. We welcome academics, NGO/business/government representatives/SMEs who wish to contribute to having a positive impact through addressing the challenges.

What do I need to prepare in advance? What will the STEAMLab entail?

Absolutely nothing in advance. During the STEAMLab, you’ll be guided through a process which results in the development of research ideas. The process facilitates creativity, potentially leading to innovative and interdisciplinary research ideas. These ideas will be explored with other attendees, and further developed based on the feedback received.

What if I don’t have time to think about ideas in advance?

You don’t need to do this. Some inspiring speakers with a range of backgrounds will be coming along to give your ideas…

What about afterwards? Do I need to go away and do loads of work?

Well… that depends! The STEAMLab will result in some novel research ideas. Some of these may be progressed immediately; others might need more time to think about. You may find common ground with other attendees which you choose to take forward in other ways, such as writing a paper or applying for research funding. Support will be available to progress project ideas after the day.

What if my topic area is really specific, such as health?

Your contribution will be very welcome! One of the main benefits of a STEAMlab event is to bring together individuals with a range of backgrounds and specialisms who are able to see things just that bit differently to one another.

So, is this just networking?

Definitely not! It is a facilitated session with the primary intention of developing innovative research ideas, which also enables the development of networks. It gives you the opportunity to explore research ideas which you may develop over time, together with the chance to find common ground with academics from across BU and beyond.

So, how do I book onto this event?

To take part in this exciting opportunity, all participants should complete the Virtual Problems-challenges-STEAMLab-Application-Form and return this to RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk by 25th May. Places are strictly limited and you will be be contacted to confirm a place place on the STEAMLab with arrangements nearer the time. The event will be held in Bournemouth at the Fusion building.

By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event on 6th June (c. 9:30 – 16:30). Spaces will be confirmed on 1/6/18.

If you have any queries prior to submitting your application, please contact Alexandra Pekalski RKEO Research Facilitator.

May 5, 2018

Publication by BU midwifery student

Centre for Excellence in Learning, Publishing, Student Engagement, student research, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Rebecca Weston, BU student midwife, on the publication of her article: ‘When all you want to do is run out of the room…‘ Rebecca published this reflective piece in May issue of the journal The Practising Midwife. She wrote it shortly after having been involved in “a traumatic, sudden and heart-breaking event in practice”. Reflection is certainly beneficial in experiential learning, developing critical thinking and integrating midwifery theory and practice.

It is my pleasure to wrote this BU Research Blog to congratulate Rebecca today on the International day of the Midwife.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

May 1, 2018

Virtual Problems STEAMLab

BU research, Events, innovation, Knowledge Exchange apekalski