Doctoral Training Workshops: 2015-2016 Programme
Co-ordinated by Sue Oreszczyn (s.m.oreszczyn@open.ac.uk)
Programme Assistant: Julius Mugwagwa (julius.mugwagwa@open.ac.uk)
Programme Secretary: Wendy Morgan (Doctoral-and-PACE-Training@open.ac.uk)
Please note: sessions may be subject to change, a weekly reminder is therefore sent out. To go on
our mailing list please contact the programme secretary.
Date
Tuesday 6th October
10.45 -1pm
Buffet lunch provided
from 1pm
Happy Hour 5pm
Workshop
What is a Research Degree and Getting Going on One
Room
Hub Suite
Presenters
Hub Suite
Sue
Oreszczyn
and Julius
This session provides an overview of the Doctoral
Training Workshops programme and then
concentrates on exploring the nature of a PhD and
the competencies that need to be demonstrated
through a PhD project.
It will also help you to begin to develop your
networks with other students in the OU
Sue
Oreszczyn,
and Julius
Mugwagwa
This session will be followed by:
An Introduction to Reference Management tools
2-3pm Library Seminar Room 1 and 2
(Note: booking required -Library-training@open.ac.uk )
Reference (or bibliographic) management tools
enable you to store and manage your references and
automatically generate bibliographies and in text
citations in a variety of styles. This session will give
an overview of some of the freely available and
commercial bibliographic management tools and
how they can save you time.
Tuesday 13th
October
10.45 -1pm
Happy Hour 5pm
Project Planning: What I want to do...and how I might
start...
This workshop is designed to help you to organise
and plan your PhD work. It will cover issues such as
identifying key tasks, at what point these task need
to be done and how long they will take to carry out.
It will help with setting milestones, identifying
resources and dealing with issues that may arise.
This session will be followed by:
An Introduction to Reference Management tools
2-3pm Library Seminar Room 1 and 2
(Note: booking required -Library-training@open.ac.uk )
Reference (or bibliographic) management tools
enable you to store and manage your references and
automatically generate bibliographies and in text
citations in a variety of styles. This session will give
an overview of some of the freely available and
commercial bibliographic management tools and
how they can save you time
Mugwagwa
Tuesday 20th
October
10.45 -1pm
Academic Writing Process, Text Types and Communities
(This links into the PACE sessions on academic writing)
Venables
S0049
Theresa
Lillis
(PACE
Team)
Why do we need an ethics review process? The
advantages for the researcher.
It is suggested that attendees read the information at
http://www.open.ac.uk/research/ethics/index.shtml and
come prepared with questions and details of suggested
projects that might involve human participants.
Venables
S0049
Louise
Westmarla
nd
Planning and Writing the Literature Review
This session explores the purposes of a ‘Literature’
Review, what are appropriate sources, the reliability of
sources and ways of structuring a review.
Venables
S0049
TBA
Research Design and Focus
This workshop will help you think about your research
questions and consider what makes a good research
question. It will help you explore and refine your research
questions, consider how they may be converted into
doable tasks and set boundaries for your research. The
session will also explore how they relate to the research
methods you might use.
Venables
S0049
Sue
Oreszczyn,
Julius
Mugwagwa
Logics of Enquiry
In this session we think about the logic of enquiry which
lies behind your research. We will explore the link
between ways of understanding how the world works and
the selection of research methods. We end the session
with a discussion about the logic of your enquiry and how
to tackle this in the probation report.
Venables
S0049
Matt Cook
Developing Personal & Professional Support Networks
This session will focus on the relationships that can make
or break your research. We will cover the art of
networking, how to manage your supervisors and how to
protect your most important relationships while doing
postgraduate research.
Venables
S0049
Chris High
Undertaking Research Presentations - Part 1
This session and the following one, later in the
programme, explore what research presentations should
achieve, the common fears that presenters experience
CMR 11
Trevor
Collins, Mark
Gaved
In this session we will begin to consider some of the
key issues involved in academic writing at doctoral
level and beyond. We will consider why it is
important to think of writing as a process, as a set of
text types and as varying according to the
communities we are writing for. The session will
involve writing, discussion of participants’ interests
and perspectives, analysis of short extracts of
academic writing and an opportunity to consider
short and longer term writing priorities.
Half Term
rd
Tuesday 3
November
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 10th
November
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 17th
November
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 24th
November
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 1st
December
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 8th
December
10.45 -1pm
Buffet lunch provided
from 1pm
Happy Hour 5pm
and the steps that can be taken to alleviate such fears.
After attending these sessions you will be able to: identify
the purpose of different types of presentation and the
audiences involved, identify what makes a good and
presentation, work through the common fears of
presenters, use visual materials to support your aural
presentation, structure and deliver a research
presentation, and defend the outcomes of your research
through developing techniques for responding to
questions.
CHRISTMAS BREAK
Tuesday 12
January
th
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 26th
January
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 9th
February
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 23rd
February
10.45-1pm
Being "critical" in academic writing: building towards
the literature review
In this session we will be considering what being “critical”
in academic writing means for you. We will look at some
examples of texts by postgraduate writers and published
academics, reflecting on the ways in which the authors
have communicated critical stance, and how this might
differ depending on our discipline, and on the audiences
and purposes of our texts. We will then focus on the
literature review, using a combination of writing and
discussion to explore ways to develop effective critical
conversations and so to construct a convincing review of
your field.
Venables
S0049
Jackie Tuck
(PACE
Team)
Questionnaire Design
This session is designed to explore the basics of
questionnaire design in the context of the survey
process. It aims to develop understanding of why
questionnaires are used; their strengths and limitations;
when to use them; the process of constructing a
questionnaire; and to identify the key features of good
question design.
S0049
Bart
Rienties
and Rachel
Slater
Fieldwork with people
This session will consider doing fieldwork with people.
Using examples of real research, it will help you to think
about practical issues that need to be considered and
help you produce a fieldwork plan. It will also cover the
different kinds of data collection, what may go wrong and
how best to avoid such problems.
Venables
S0049
Ben
Lampert
and Craig
Walker
Planning for research data management
Whether you’re conducting interviews, collecting
samples, creating software or analyzing texts, a data
management plan is an invaluable exercise when you are
starting any research project during which you will collect,
create or use data. The aim of this hands-on workshop
will help you to think about the processes you will need to
undertake to ensure your data is managed properly
throughout your project and beyond. By the end of the
session you will have produced a first draft of a data
management plan and will have a range of strategies and
tips for research data management to take away with
you.
Venables
S0049
Isabel
Chadwick
(Research
Data
Managemen
t Librarian)
Half Term
th
Tuesday 8 March
10.45 -1pm
Tuesday 15th March
A Research Student’s Guide to Intellectual Property
Rights
This sessions goes through how students should respect
IPR in undertaking their research and also how they can
protect their own IPR that arise from their research work.
It particularly concentrates of copyright issues and
provides guidance on restricted and permitted acts with
copyright materials.
Venables
S0049
No workshop – 2nd Induction Conference
Venables
S0049
Malcome
Stokes
Easter break
Tuesday 12th April
Venables
S0049
10.45 -1pm
Getting published and the review process
This workshop will cover the different ways that your
research may be published and particularly publishing in
academic journals. It will help you to understand the
review process and how your work will be assessed
Sue
Oreszczyn
and Steve
Potter
Tuesday 26th April
Preparing Conference Presentations –Part 2
10.45 -1pm
(Complements December 3rd session - Undertaking
Research Presentations)
Venable
S0049
Trevor
Collins, Mark
Gaved
Tuesday 17th May
and Wednesday 18th
May
2 DAY STUDENT CONFERENCE
Tuesday 24thth May
Preparing for Probation, PhD and MRes Viva
This session takes students through the three types of
viva at the OU: for the MRes, the Probation mini-viva and
the PhD. There is an exploration of the purposes of each
viva, the process is explained of how assessors/examiners
are appointed and what they are required to do and there
is guidance on how to prepare for each type of viva.
10.45 -1pm
Buffet lunch provided
from 1pm
Happy Hour 5pm
This conference offers an opportunity for you to both
practise your skills in presenting (particularly to a diverse
audience) and answering questions about your research
in a friendly environment. It is also an opportunity to get
feedback from your peers and to support you fellow
students. There will also be lots of free food.
Venables
S0049
and
Mulberry
Suite
Venables
S0049
OBS lab
Matt Cook
and Steve
Potter,
John
Richardson