The Early Career Researcher Article Prize 2019/20

The International Journal of Social Research Methodology is the leading European journal in social research methods and methodology with a five-year impact factor of 2.099.

We are pleased to announce the 2019/20 competition for papers written by early career researchers (ECRs), who are either current doctoral students or in their first three years of post-doctoral employment since the date of their doctoral graduation day.  

We particularly welcome sole authored ECR articles but will also consider joint authored articles where the ECR is the main/lead editor and is responsible for 70% or more of the paper.

A prize of £500 will be awarded to the best paper, and this and runners up will be published in the Journal. They will be free to access until the end of 2020. 

The journal aims to encourage high quality rigorous papers that provide an original contribution to current and emerging methodological debates and methodological practice across a range of approaches qualitative, quantitative, hybrid and mixed methods. The prize has been established to encourage and recognise research and contributions from new scholars in these debates and practices.

Potential contributors should carefully read the Aims and Scope of the Journal at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=tsrm20  and Instructions for Authors at  http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=tsrm20&page=instructions. 

Papers submitted between October 1st 2019 and June 30th 2020 will be considered as entries in the competition.

All papers will be subject to the journal’s normal refereeing process and the best paper will be selected by the editors and representatives of the editorial board. Papers will be expected to reach the normal publishing standard of the journal and in the unlikely event that none do, the journal reserves the right to publish none and not award the prize.

Questions concerning the competition should be sent to Malcolm Williams WilliamsMD4@cardiff.ac.uk and papers for consideration to tsrm-editor@tandf.co.uk. Your covering letter should indicate that you would like your paper to be considered for the competition and a statement of eligibility as an ECR.

The winners of our ECR paper competition for 2018

In 2018 IJSRM ran a competition for papers written by early career researchers (ECRs) who were either current doctoral students or in their first three years of post-doctoral employment.  Our aim was to encourage and recognise research and contributions from new scholars in current and emerging methodological debates and practice.

All entries were subject to the Journal’s usual refereeing processes and had to reach our normal publishing standard.  The winners were selected by a sub-panel of members of the IJSRM Editorial Board and the Journal Editors. The panel identified two articles as joint winners of the ‘Best ECR Article’. Both have been made free to access until the end of 2019. 

Fabio Hirschhorn’s article reflected on application of the Delphi method.  Fabio, who is a PhD candidate at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, explains:

I reflect on the use of the Delphi method in the context of research on the governance of public transport services. The Delphi has become a tool to address varied research questions, producing and employing both quantitative and qualitative information, in a multiplicity of scientific fields, also helping achieve several types of outcomes beyond only consensus. This flexibility for researchers to tailor a survey according to specific needs while still keeping core features that ensure the scientific robustness of the method, is, in my view, the greatest merit of the Delphi. 

Nicole Brown’s article reflecting on using identity boxes to elicit experiences.  Nicole, who is a PhD candidate at the University of Kent, and a Lecturer in Education and an Academic Head of Learning and Teaching based at the UCL Institute of Education, UK, explains: 

I consider the identity boxes and their contents as data in themselves, analysing them using not a more conventional form of qualitative analysis but also a less traditional arts-based method that led to an artistic installation and an illustrated poem. I found that these representations spoke to audiences in a way that the written word could not. What is most intriguing for me about this material approach is the depth of data that emerges through asking participants to engage with research questions intuitively.

Nicole and Fabio remarked on what winning the IJSRM ECR prize means to them:

Nicole: Being told that my work was awarded IJSRM’s “Best ECR Article” prize was particularly special. Not only has my work been deemed worthy of publication, the editorial board and journal editors, who are all eminent academics in the field, have given my work their seal of approval. I have always enjoyed learning about, experimenting with and teaching research methods and to me this prize now confirms that my work contributes to the advancement of the field. 

Fabio: It is a great honor to win the ‘Best Early Career Researcher Article’ prize from a prestigious outlet as the International Journal of Social Research Methodology. This prize is a great incentive to early career researchers whose work is seldom recognized. In my case, this achievement not only makes me very proud about my past effort, but also motivates me to further strive to produce high-quality and high-impact research in coming years. 

Many congratulations to Fabio and Nicole!

The ESRC Research Methods Festival 2018

We’re pleased to share this playlist from the ESRC Research Methods Festival 2018 where we sponsored a key lecture. The videos were produced by the National Centre for Research Methods.

‘Democratising Big Data’ workshop

‘Democratising Big Data’ workshop

28^th-29^th June 2018, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Sussex

Participants are invited to register for a free two-day workshop at the University of Sussex’s Digital Humanities Lab, funded by the International Journal of Social Research Methodology’s seminar competition 2017/18 and hosted by the Sussex Humanities Lab.

Registration: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/_L62CmZ2EotjWz3r1cLhoTn?domain=eventbrite.co.uk

More information: http://democratisingbigdata.wordpress.com

The rise of ‘big data’ has posed new challenges for research practices across the social sciences, with researchers divided over its methodological value and contribution (Halford & Savage 2017). Recent studies have drawn attention to the unethical and undemocratic ends that big data, and associated methods of data mining and scraping, can be directed towards (Eubanks 2018; Zimmer & Kinder-Kurlander 2017). Nonetheless, a recent wave of citizen data science and participatory action research has begun to explore the potential ways that big data can be used in studies orientated to societal and community-based challenges (for example the Public Science Project at CUNY). These studies use big data tools as resources to support individuals and communities in researching the social, political, environmental and structural circumstances of their lives – seeking to provide opportunities for collective reflection and social action through collaborative research.

This two-day workshop aims to explore the potential of big data in transforming participatory and action research approaches in the social sciences, examining the tensions, opportunities and challenges it presents for participatory, democratic and community-based models of research. This workshop is open to participants from across the social sciences, social care, education, computing and humanities interested in exploring participatory and action research approaches to big data. Places are limited and catering will be provided on both days.

Invited speakers include:

• Graham Lally (Director of the OCSI).
• Dr Helen Pritchard (Goldsmiths, University of London) from the Citizen Sense project.
• Dr Jennifer Pybus (Kings College London) from the Our Data Ourselves project.
• Dr Jonathan Gray (Kings College London) from the Public Data Lab.
• Dr Claudia Abreu Lopes (University of Cambridge).
• Prof David Weir and Jack Pay (University of Sussex) from the TAG Laboratory and Sussex Humanities Lab.

The first day of the workshop will explore the inherent challenges and tensions of ‘democratising’ big data in research, drawing on perspectives from inside and outside of the social sciences, and from inside and outside of the academy. The second day will involve creative group activities aimed at mapping tensions and opportunities for participatory and action research, and exploring potential interdisciplinary projects.

Early Career/PhD Funding: We have capacity to fund one doctoral or early career researcher’s travel and accommodation from within the UK. To be considered for this, please send a short email to Dr Liam Berriman (l.j.berriman@sussex.ac.uk) by the 1^st June 2018 outlining how the workshop’s themes connect with your research.

For more information visit https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/odzWCn5Yzpc7mv2YluKbcnf?domain=democratisingbigdata.wordpress.com or contact the organiser Dr Liam Berriman (l.j.berriman@sussex.ac.uk).

The International Journal of Social Research Methodology is sponsoring a key lecture at the ESRC Research Methods Festival again this year

We are delighted that Professor Nancy Cartwright (Durham, and California San Diego) has agreed to give the Journal lecture this year.  She will discuss causal inference and evidence for the single case. Her talk will cover a catalogue of types of evidence that can argue for/against causation in the single case, irrespective of counterfactuals, and offer a systematic account of causal modelling that shows why these are legitimate sources of evidence.

The Festival is organised by the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods and is a unique biennial celebration of cutting edge development in research methods.  You can book to attend the Festival at: https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/RMF2018/home.php

At previous Festivals, the Journal has sponsored talks by Professor Andrew Abbott and an ‘in conversation’ with Professor Emeritus Aaron Cicourel.  Videos of these events can be accessed at the NCRM YouTube channel.