One-to-One Development

At Bradford, we pride ourselves on our friendly community approach to your research degree experience.

In addition to group training, some University services also offer individually-tailored researcher development through one-to-one appointments or drop-in services.

Each service offers different specialisms, depending upon their area of expertise, so it is worth visiting their websites for service information before booking.

Researcher Development

You can book a one-to-one appointment with Dr Russell Delderfield to get advice and guidance on any research skills from the RDF domains for MPhil, PhD or DBA.

Whether you are excelling already and just want to make the most of what the university has to offer, have something from your Training Needs Analysis that requires attention, or even if you're finding some aspects of doctoral study challenging, Dr Delderfield can help.

Appointments are currently offered to all by telephone, email, and Zoom.
Researching off-campus, extra-murally or part-time is fine - flexible appointment times are available to suit your needs.

Which skills can you develop?

Any of the following from the Researcher Development Framework (from Vitae)

As part of Postgraduate Researcher Development, the following are examples of transferable skills from the RDF domains:

Analysis and critical thinking (RDF A2 & A3).
Problem-solving and creative solutions (RDF A2 & A3).
Research philosophy, designing research and methodological skills (RDF A1).
Ethics and ethical approval (RDF A1, C1 & C2).
Personal effectiveness and self-management (RDF B1 & B2).
Personal/professional development such as goal-setting and action-planning (RDF B2 & A3).
Professional research conduct and communication (RDF C1 & D2).
Reflective practice and reflexivity for research (RDF A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 & B3).
Managing research as a project (RDF C2).
Working successfully with others (RDF B3 & D1).
Critical reading & reviewing (RDF A1, A2 & A3).
Presenting (RDF B1, D2 & D3).
Viva skills for the viva voce (RDF B1, B2, C1 & D2).
Dissemination-related skills, e.g. designing posters, writing skills for doctoral thesis-writing and writing for publication (RDF D2).
PDP skills including, but not limited to, the Researcher Development Framework & using Vitae resources for professional development (RDF B3).

Proofing and checking of theses, reports or other doctoral-level writing

Dr Delderfield teaches skills & methodologies, and offers advice and guidance. He does not offer vetting, checking or proofing of doctoral work or publication drafts.
If you'd like information on the University's regulations around MPhil and doctoral theses and proof-reading, please see the Declaration of English Language Assistance form in this list of documents provided by our PGR Administration team.

PG Researchers and COVID-19

February 2021 - the University is extending twice-weekly testing for all students and staff attending campus who are showing no symptoms of COVID-19 (asymptomatic).

COVID-19 information specific to Bradford doctoral researchers is available.

All PGR are welcome to use the new national support resource from Student Minds: Student Space. This is here to help you through the coronavirus pandemic. It has been carefully designed to provide students with dedicated support services run by trained supporters via phone, text, email and webchat, how ever you’re feeling. See the button below.

Resources for Researchers Researching at a Distance

Training on-demand

We offer SPSS and NVivo training all year round.
Simply book as an individual or as a group.
We offer bespoke training to meet your needs, when you need it.

Your trainers:

NVivo - Dr Russell Delderfield
SPSS - Dr Michael Cross.

Use the buttons to view our introductory materials to help you to decide if the software is useful to you and/or to book an appointment.

SPSS NVivo

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.

Career and Employability Services

Career Consultants can give you individual advice on all aspects of identifying, preparing, and applying for posts or career-enhancing exchanges or positions, whether you pursue a profession outside or inside academia.

Subject Librarians

The J.B. Priestley Library not only provides access to resources and researcher training but you can arrange an appointment with your Subject Librarian for advice on searching, managing literature storage and cititation, copyright and many other aspects of researcher information literacy.

The Language Centre

You can find out about their academic language skills classes by checking their schedule of sessions and enrolling in their Canvas area.
As a doctoral researcher, you can make an appointment to see an English for Academic Purposes Lecturer to get personalised language development.
Online support class timetable:
- Mondays 12-1 and 4-5pm: Speaking in Academic Contexts
- Tuesdays 12-1 and 4-5 pm: Grammar for Academic Writing
- Wednesdays 12-1 and 4-5 pm: Academic Reading and Writing
- Thursdays 12-1 and 4-5pm: Pronunciation.

The Language Centre Support Schedule 2020/2021

Download The Language Centre Support Schedule 2020/2021
(, 179 KB)

If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team.

The Disability Service

If you have additional learning needs, this service provides specialist guidance on tools, tech, adjustments and further support.

The Counselling Service

In addition to counselling and therapy, the team offer help with developing intrapersonal skills, such as tackling procrastination, building confidence, resilience, and coping strategies.

NVivo Training

NVivo is computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) that can be used for the analysis of unstructured text, audio, video, and image data, including (but not limited to) interviews, focus groups, surveys, social media, and journal articles. It is produced by QSR International and the University has a license.

Training in the use of NVivo is offered as a tailored blending learning package.
This combines face-to-face tutorial, training text and video instruction.
Contact Dr Delderfield to book your one-to-one appointment to get started with CAQDAS.