Bookings now open! 4th ESRC Research Methods Festival

The 4th ESRC Research Methods Festival, organised by the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM), will be held on 5-8 July 2010 at St Catherine's College, Oxford, UK.

As at previous festivals, an impressive line up of presenters will speak about issues at the cutting edge of developments in social science research methods.

This is the biggest social science research methods event of the year in the UK, with over 60 sessions, 200 presenters and 800 delegates. We look forward to seeing you in Oxford!

Research methods training bursaries available - Deadline Fri 22 January 2010

The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) is inviting applications for research methods training bursaries. The call is open from Tuesday 5 January until Friday 22 January 2010. The bursaries are available for UK social science community engaged in research, teaching research methods or supervising research to update their skills. Contract researchers working in HEIs are also eligible for the bursaries. This scheme cannot be used to fund masters or doctoral studies. For further information about the bursaries and to apply, please go to http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/about/funding/training/ . Deadline for training bursary applications is 5pm Friday 22 January 2010.

There is no prescribed list of accepted training courses. However, applicants may like to use the Training & Events database http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/training/ to help in locating a course.

From April 2010 the bursary scheme will be open for applications throughout the year i.e. there will not be deadlines for applications.

Final report: Consultation on Research Needs in Research Methods in the UK Social Sciences

One of the objectives of the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) is to assess current national provision and national needs in research methods and training through consultation with key stakeholders.

An extensive consultation on the needs for research in research methods was undertaken in 2006. This report is an update of that exercise. Four groups of people participated in this consultation via interview or questionnaire: leading researchers working on research relating to the seven key ESRC Strategic Research Challenges identified in the ESRC strategic Plan 2009-2014; participants to the 2006 consultation; Directors of NCRM and National Centre for e-Social Science (NCeSS) Nodes; and, learned societies. An open call for responses from the broader social research community was also issued. A total of 32 responses from these various sources were received.

The findings of this consultation identify the perceived needs for research in research methods of a relatively small number of social and economic researchers. These may not be representative of the views of all social scientists but that was not our intention. Rather, they represent the considered views of, primarily, senior social scientists about key areas of future research need. The areas identified overlap to a considerable extent with the findings of the 2006 consultation.

Training bursaries available

The National Centre for Research Methods has a call out for research methods training bursary applications. The bursaries are available for UK social science community engaged in research, teaching research methods or supervising research to update their skills. Contract researchers working in HEIs are also eligible for the bursaries. This scheme cannot be used to fund masters or doctoral studies. For further information about the bursaries and to apply, please go to http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/about/funding/training/ . Deadline for training bursary applications is 5pm Friday 18 September 2009.

There is no prescribed list of accepted training courses. However, applicants may like to use the Training & Events database http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/training/ to help in locating a course

Now fully booked: Methods Centre Autumn School, 11-13 Nov 2009

The National Centre for Research Methods will be holding its fifth residential training event targeted at early career researchers between November 11th to 13th 2009. Our focus this year is on what might be described as 'hybrid' or 'crossover' methods in the social sciences: methods which take quantitative data and develop an analysis reliant on more qualitative approaches, or vice versa; methods which are more commonly associated with a quantitative or qualitative tradition, and where new hybrid approaches are (re)emerging; and methods which defy a quantitative/qualitative categorisation.

There are 30 fully-funded places available (to include accommodation, all meals, and travel expenses to and from Southampton). To apply for a fully-funded place, please read further.

Consultation on Methodological research needs

Contributions are invited from all members of the social science research community to an update of a consultation we conducted in 2006, on needs for research in the field of research methods. Please download a form and email a completed version to N.Bardsley@soton.ac.uk by August 11th 2009. The 2006 consultation can be accessed here: http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/412/

ESRC call for National Strategic Director for e-Social Science

BACKGROUND

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) wishes to appoint a Director to lead the development of a co-ordinated national e-social science strategy. This is a key strategic leadership role which will involve working to develop a coherent inter-agency approach, which draws upon various national and international e-social science initiatives to maximise the uptake, use and impact of new e-technologies across the social science community.

This is an exciting opportunity to develop and deliver a national strategic initiative and ensure it has an enduring impact across the social sciences. The post will support one of the Council's key strategic objectives to take a national lead in driving forward the development of cutting edge methodological, tools, techniques and services to support world class social science research.

The budget for the post is £650K which is expected to cover the salary costs of the Director and support staff. Further funding is currently available to support a range of strategic activities to be identified by the Director.


HOW TO MAKE AN APPLICATION

The post of Director will be a senior appointment based at a UK Higher Education Institution. It will last for a period of 36 months, committing between 50 - 100% time to the post, dependent on other commitments.

Applicants are welcome from any discipline, but must command a strong commitment to innovative, interdisciplinary work which is a central feature of the NCeSS research programme. They must have an appreciation of social science research. Knowledge and skills on the uptake and use of new technologies in social science research is also an important requirement for this post.

Applications for the post should be submitted to the ESRC Office by 4pm on 24 June 2009. Interviews will be held in London in the week commencing 20 July 2009 (date to be confirmed). It is expected that the successful applicant will take up the post on 1st October 2009, or as soon as is practically possible thereafter.

For further information please read further.

Call for applications: Comparative Cross-National Research Methods

The ESRC invites applications under this Initiative on Comparative Cross-National Research Methods. Several recent studies have identified a pressing need for the development of comparative cross-national research methods for the conduct of a high quality international and cross-national comparative research. This initiative is aimed at generating methodological advancement as well as advance understanding of the implementation of best practice.

Full proposals must be submitted to the ESRC by 4pm on Tuesday 25th August 2009.

Call for applications for Networks for Methodological Innovation projects

Once again we are inviting application from researchers interested in setting up a Network for Methodological Innovation (NMI). The NMI projects from this call will start their work in 2010. NMI's are commissioned with the aim of stimulating discussion on new methodological challenges and reviewing developments within specific methodological fields. They consist of a series of network-based events and related activities over a period of up to one year. The Methods Centre funds two networks each year with a maximum budget of £24,000 per network.

In line with the Centre's broader remit, networks for methodological innovation contribute to the envisaged step change in the quality and range of methodological skills and techniques used by the UK social science community. They are orientated towards stimulating new ideas and improving understanding of methods and of the connections between methods and disciplines.

This year, applications are invited on any methodological topic, although suggested topics are: interdisciplinary working; mixed methods and data integration; new forms of data and/or data collection; and finally, research evidence for policy. Applications are welcome from all social science disciplines.

The closing date for applications is 26 June 2009.

Methods Centre celebrating its first five years

The Methods Centre celebrated its first five years on Tuesday 21 April 2009. The evening reception was hosted at the British Academy in London and it gathered a large group of people across the social science research community with interests in methods.