Methods by National Centre for Research Methods

04.27.2023

Laura Bernardi on mixed methods and research questions (NCRM) - Catherine McDonald, Laura Bernardi

In this episode of the Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talks to Laura Bernardi, Professor of Demography and Sociology of the Life Course within the LIVES Centre at the University of Lausanne. Laura is also the former Deputy Director of...

03.29.2023

JD Carpentieri on qualitative research and theory (NCRM) - Catherine McDonald, JD Carpentieri

In this episode of the Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talks to JD Carpentieri, Associate Professor of Social Science and Policy in the Department of Education, Practice and Society at University College London, and an Honorary Research Associate at the...

02.22.2023

Laura Camfield on undertaking cross-national mixed methods research (NCRM) - Catherine McDonald, Laura Camfield

In this episode of the Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talks to Laura Camfield, Professor of Development Research and Evaluation in the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia. Laura discusses cross-country comparisons, the importance of theory in...

01.25.2023

Dan Woodman on mixed and qualitative longitudinal approaches (NCRM) - Catherine McDonald, Dan Woodman

In this episode of the Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talks to Dan Woodman, Associate Professor of Sociology at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Dan is an internationally recognised authority on conceptualising generational...

11.29.2022

Jane Gray on researching social change over time (NCRM) - Catherine McDonald, Jane Gray

In this episode of the Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talk to Jane Gray, Professor of Sociology at the Social Sciences Institute at Maynooth University in Ireland. Jane is the programme leader for the Irish Qualitative Data Archive and played...

10.26.2022

Johnny Saldaña on qualitative longitudinal research (NCRM) - Catherine McDonald, Johnny Saldaña

In this episode of the Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talks to Johnny Saldaña, Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University’s School of Film, Dance and Theatre, and a leading authority on qualitative and qualitative longitudinal methods. Johnny discusses his research methodology...

04.28.2022

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04.20.2022

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12.20.2018

Teaching Big Qual: benefits and challenges for students and teachers (NCRM) - Ros Edwards and Sarah Lewthwaite

In a special mini-series of our podcast, we discuss the secondary analysis of large-scale qualitative data as a new research method. Here Ros Edwards and Sarah Lewthwaite from the University of Southampton talk about how the method might benefit and...

12.20.2018

Making space for Big Qual: new ideas in research methods and teaching (NCRM) - Lynn Jamieson and Sarah Lewthwaite

In a special mini-series of our podcast, we discuss the secondary analysis of large-scale qualitative data as a new research method. Here Lynn Jamieson from the University of Edinburgh and Sarah Lewthwaite from the University of Southampton reflect on the...

10.11.2018

Remember your body: a somatics toolkit for ethnographers (NCRM) - Eline Kieft

A researcher's physical sensations are widely understood to contribute to their insights into people and culture. Yet there are no adequate courses that teach students how to use their body as a research instrument. It’s a gap that a group...

09.26.2018

A short introduction to the Timescapes Archive (NCRM) - Kahryn Hughes

We introduce the TimeScapes Archive, an archive designed to enable the sharing and re-use of datasets that have been generated using qualitative longitudinal research methods. Our guest is Kahryn Hughes. Kahryn is the Director of the TimeScapes Archive and co-director...

08.06.2018

Transforming lives with storytelling (NCRM) - Joanna Wheeler

Getting participants to tell their stories can be both moving and powerful, but can it transform lives? In this episode of the Methods Podcast, Research Method Festival presenter Joanna Wheeler - from the University of Western Cape in South...

08.06.2018

Food for thought: using fitness bracelet technology to tackle poor nutrition in low-income countries (NCRM) - Giacomo Zanello

Many of us use fitness watches to get fitter, but could the technology behind these devices help the millions of people across the world who don’t have enough food to eat? In this episode of the Methods Podcast, Dr Giacomo...

06.25.2018

Mind the gap: why skills are key to data re-use (NCRM) - Richard Welpton

When it comes to making more data from government departments more readily available to researchers, there has for some time been a will, but not always a way. When the way is found, it can be painstaking and time-consuming...

06.15.2018

Using satellites to slash survey costs (NCRM) - Marco Haenssgen and Ern Charoenboon

Carrying out surveys on hard to reach populations in far flung parts of the world can be challenging and expensive. But researchers from the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oxford have used freely available...

05.11.2018

Diary of a participant: using apps for qualitative research. (NCRM) - Laura Radcliffe and Leighann Spencer

Researchers have been using diaries to capture the experiences and thoughts of their participants for some time, but the advent and growth of new technology has opened up exciting opportunities to use mobile devices in the same way. In this...

04.17.2018

Changing the world with mixed methods (NCRM) - Donna Mertens

From climate change to water security - there are some problems facing the world that often seem unsolvable. So how can researchers stay positive about the role they have in tackling these huge challenges and which research methods should they...

03.06.2018

Understanding poverty using visual participatory methods: can it work? (NCRM) - Daniel McCulloch

Actively engaging study participants in research to give them a voice is a method that has grown in popularity in recent years. But does this approach really give people a voice and if so how? In his research project "Do...

12.19.2017

Digging deep! The archaeological metaphor helping researchers get into Big Qual (NCRM) - Susie Weller

Working across qualitative data sets is a relatively new but nevertheless exciting proposition, but can it be done well and with integrity? In this episode of the Methods Podcast, we talk to Dr Susie Weller from the University of Southampton...

11.15.2017

Multi-sited ethnography: a researcher’s story (NCRM) - Pauline von Hellermann

Travelling to different locations to undertake ethnographic research undoubtedly provides some interesting and exciting opportunities to extend and deepen a researcher’s analysis. But what are the real benefits and challenges around multi-sited ethnography as a research method? In this episode...

10.02.2017

Having a family: what can our genes tell us about fertility? (NCRM) - Melinda Mills

Researchers have access to a fantastic array of information about people and their lives. Large scale household and biological surveys have collected data not just about people's environment and circumstances, but also physical samples of blood and saliva from which...

08.10.2017

Using mobile devices to understand spending (NCRM) - Annette Jackle

The development of mobile technology has brought with it some exciting opportunities for those interested in collecting data from households about their finances. Researchers based at the University of Essex who run the UK Household Longitudinal Study have been working...

06.06.2017

Telling a longitudinal story (NCRM) - Vernon Gayle

Across the social sciences, there is widespread agreement that quantitative longitudinal research designs offer analysts powerful scientific data resources. However, a large number of texts on social survey analysis are written from a statistical, rather than a social science data...

03.15.2017

Questions of disclosure: a synthetic answer (NCRM) - David Martin

In a rapidly changing linked data environment, there is much excitement about its potential, but still plenty of concern around the need to understand and mitigate any risk of disclosure of personal information. In this episode of our Podcast, Professor...

12.19.2016

How are we influenced by the information we are exposed to? (NCRM) - Iulia Cioroianu

The media environment, including the way we consume our news has been radically changed by the advent of the Internet. What does this mean for the type of content we look at and how we share it with our off-...

12.06.2016

Reproducing social science research: give up your code (NCRM) - Vernon Gayle

While there is now an unprecedented amount of large-scale social science data suitable for sociological research, in reality it is impossible to ‘reproduce’ the results of most of the analyses that are published because information on how the work is...

07.28.2016

Introduction to time use diaries (NCRM) - Jonathan Gershuny

How we spend our time has long been of interest to researchers around the world. How we can most accurately capture that information is key and of particular interest to survey methodologists. A popular research method since the early 1960s...

07.27.2016

Using visual diaries to capture the everyday lives of people in mid to later life (NCRM) - Wendy Martin

The use of visual methods in research on ageing has become increasingly popular. Not a great deal of it, however, has looked at people in mid to later life. A team at Brunel University, London, however, has been doing just...

07.25.2016

'Statistics Anxiety' A Fairy Tale For Our Times? (NCRM) - John MacInnes

It is typically assumed that social science students are anxious, confused or intimidated by numbers. However this is far more 'common wisdom' than anything that any robust empirical research has demonstrated. Professor John MacInnes from the University of Edinburgh has...

06.21.2016

Visualising social trends in 3D (NCRM) - Jon Minton

Data visualisation has become synonymous with simple infographics in recent years, but for researchers this isn't necessarily a good thing. That's according to Dr Jonathan Minton from Glasgow University who uses data visualisation, including 3D printouts of data to visualise...

06.03.2016

Researching the oldest old and those living and dying with dementia in care homes (NCRM) - Claire Goodman

There are many uncertainties surrounding end of life care for people with dementia living in care homes. From who is responsible for which aspects of a person’s care to what type of care they receive in the home or in...

04.18.2016

Inquiry into the 2015 British general election opinion polls (NCRM) - Patrick Sturgis

The night of the General Election 2015 was a surprising one in more ways than one! A series of opinion polls had led us all to believe that we were in for another Coalition Government, but, as we...

03.21.2016

Is it possible to use creative methods to research migration and citizenship (NCRM) - Umut Erel

Is it possible to use creative methods such as theatre work shops to research important topics such as migration and citizenship? Are these methods a good way to get information from study participants that other methods maybe can’t and can...

12.02.2015

Shared understanding between improvising musicians (NCRM) - Michael Schober

We often assume that great musical partnerships are just that - relationships built on a mutual understanding, intensive practice together, learning how to be totally in sync to create an incredible performance. But is it essential that musicians have this...

07.19.2015

Care.data: the challenges of linking health service data (NCRM) - Neil Serougi

Linking data for the benefit of individuals and wider society is an important research area, not just for social scientists, but for us all. One of the most well known and most talked about practical examples of this is the...

07.19.2015

Data linkage: challenges and opportunities (NCRM) - Peter Elias

The growth of digital information provides social scientists with unprecedented opportunities to access the personal data of people all around the world and to transform our understanding. In this podcast, Professor Peter Elias, Strategic Advisor for Data Resources to the...

05.26.2015

Teaching and learning social research methods (NCRM) - Melanie Nind, Daniel Kilburn and Rebekah Luff

This is a joint podcast by the NCRM and the International Journal for Social Research Methods (IJSRM). There is little research literature about teaching and learning of advanced research methods, which is the motivation for the NCRM research project 'The...

04.28.2015

Using Skype in qualitative interviews with young people (NCRM) - Susie Weller

The way we communicate in our professional and personal lives has changed dramatically in recent years. We can now Skype our banks, receive texts from our doctor, and our politicians use Twitter to try to win over voters. For social researchers...

03.24.2015

Surveying UK population's political attitudes – British Election Study (NCRM) - Jane Green

How we vote and why we vote the way we do has become a key part of how we look at politics in the UK. One of the best resources around to help us pick our way through those things...

03.04.2015

Predicting and understanding the 2015 General Election (NCRM) - Professor John Curtice

Declining support for the main parties, allied with the rise of UKIP and the aftermath of the Scottish Independence Referendum mean that the 2015 General Election promises to be one of the most difficult to predict for many years. In...

01.21.2015

To probe or not to probe (NCRM) - Jouni Kuha

To probe or not to probe respondents' initial answers of "Don't know" is a key question when it comes to tackling the problem of nonresponse in surveys. In an NCRM funded Methodological Innovation Project on Item nonresponse and measurement error...

11.19.2014

The Collaborative Online Social Media Observatory (COSMOS): Beginnings, Emerging Findings and Possible Futures (NCRM) - Dr. Matthew Williams and Dr. Pete Burnap

Dr. Matthew Williams and Dr. Pete Burnap from the NCRM funded Crime Sensing with Social Media project talk about the core ideas behind the founding of the ESRC supported Collaborative Online Social Media Observatory (COSMOS), highlight some of the emerging...

10.22.2014

Face 2 Face: Tracing the real and the mediated in children's cultural worlds (NCRM) - Liam Berriman

Researching children's lives ethically in order to inform critical debates around child protection, and getting a better understanding of what it's like to research children in a digital age has been the thrust of the NCRM-funded Face to Face project...

09.17.2014

Using Social Media in Research (NCRM) - Jamie Bartlett

An increasing number of academics and researchers are seeking to exploit the rich data available on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. One organisation leading the way is the think-tank Demos, whose Centre for the Analysis of Social...

08.11.2014

Telling the untellable: researching emotionally sensitive and challenging topics (NCRM) - Denise Turner

There can be few more emotionally sensitive and challenging research areas than looking at the deaths of children. Following the death of her own young son, social worker Denise Turner decided to investigate parents' experiences of the professional response following...

07.14.2014

Paradata in qualitative research (NCRM) - Rosalind Edwards

A better understanding of paradata, or the by-products of the collection of survey data, could help researchers gain insights into issues around survey quality and costs. That's according to a team of NCRM-funded researchers who have been examining the paradata...

07.04.2014

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