A-Z of Researcher Development Events
This list provides all of the opportunities open to doctoral researchers. Staff researchers are welcome to join us.
We have tried to bring everything the university offers together in one place, so these links are to synopses of what is covered - this helps you to make an informed decision as to whether the development event will meet your needs.
- All development activities are mapped to the UK's Researcher Development Framework.
- Modules run once per year and you need to make a request to join.
- Stand-alone sessions run more often - often repeated from autumn/winter in spring/summer.
- Stand-alone events on the list appear in the PG Researchers newsletter with new dates as they are available each month.
- If something is listed without an active link, this means it will return but no new dates have been announced by the provider.
- Induction runs three times every year.
- Outduction events run every year for those who are in their final year or nearing completion.
- Topical, expert Research seminars are not listed in the A-Z as they change substantively year-on-year.
- Can't find what you're looking for?
- Many of us offer one-to-one consultations for personalised development so that you can learn new skills even if the calendar of events has finished for the academic year
- Request development events - we are happy to respond to bespoke requirements if a group identifies shared development needs.
Each opportunity is mapped to Vitae's national Researcher Development Framework (RDF) subdomains to help
with your professional development planning.
Shut Up and Write!
These sessions are structured, collective writing sessions for you to set goals, get drafting, reflect, check-in and carry on. Many people find committing to weekly or daily sessions useful in helping them commit to protected time to get scholarly (and other) writing done.
- We used to run our own institutional group at Bradford, There are still SUAW groups running in the Wolfson Centre and in Faculty of Health Studies. However, globally this movement has grown and there are now in-person groups all over and (understandably) a surge in online groups, so that you can find motivation to write at times/locales to suit you.
- SUAW boasts over 66,000 people writing across 316 countries.
- There are buttons for finding an online group or local 'chapter' on the SUAW portal.
- Many groups often use pomodoro or other techniques to structure writing time and maximise focus.
- To join a session you currently need to set up a free Meet Up account profile.
- The site provides links and instructions for this if you select the Login/Sign Up option at the top right of your screen.
Find your local group or an online session.
Training on demand, when you need it
The university provides access to specialised software for research but as these are used at advanced levels, they are not covered by a generic suite of training. Often, as an expert user your supervisors will be able to provide teaching on data analysis packages such as SPSS or NVivo.
We do not offer face-to-face training sessions in these packages, as these are digital resources, digital instruction is the best way to learn these on-screen while the programme is open, and with your own data. Digital training is the flexible and easy-access way to learn how to employ these in your own analyses.
SPSS
"SPSS Statistics is a statistical software suite developed by IBM for data management, advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, and criminal investigation." (IBM 2023).
- We have a custom-curated package of resources to support getting started with SPSS.
- There are several reliable online training resources, recommended by our doctoral researchers. Try, for example, those offered by Data for Development. There are many more to choose from.
NVivo
"A place to organize, store and analyze your data. Work more efficiently, conduct deeper analysis from more sources, and defend your findings with NVivo." (QSR 2023)
- Watch the video below to determine if NVivo is for you - it offers specific functionality to those analysing qualitative data.
- QSR International offer tutorials to help you get started.
- University of Hull offer short open access training videos aimed at researchers. Our doctoral researchers have recommended these to others.
Deciding if NVivo is for you
Useful free webinar from Academic Consulting in New Zealand to help you determine if NVivo is actually of utility for your project.
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White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership
This consortium gives our postgraduate researchers access to training and networking opportunities across Yorkshire and also provides video and self-development resources on large range of social research skills and topics via its virtual learning environment.