Methods events

NCRM is a leading provider of social science research methods events. These events are developed collaboratively with input from strategic partners, with the aim of creating large meet-up events (online and in person) for people both within and outside of academia, utilising methods in social science research. Examples of our large research methods events include:

MethodsCon

MethodsCon: Futures is a free, in-person event that will take place over two days in Manchester, UK on 12-13 September 2024. It will provide a unique opportunity for attendees to engage with, explore and develop futures, with a particular focus on themes that are likely to have significant impact on humanity’s development over the next decades.

On 13-14 September 2022, we hosted the first MethodsCon. This cross-sector event featured more than 30 sessions on methods in health and social science research. Attendees took part in workshops and interactive seminars, heard presentations from a variety of experts and collaborated with researchers from across different sectors and disciplines.

Co-production retreat

Following extensive targeted engagement focussed on health research and social sciences, we hosted a two-day co-production retreat in Chester. At this event in May 2023, we brought together final year post-graduate researchers with ‘health and wellbeing’ pathway leads from various Doctoral Training Partnerships.

Twenty researchers, along with NCRM staff focused on new and emerging trends and methodologies in this interdisciplinary space. The retreat also served to create collegial connections across the DTP network, and various possible collaborations beyond the retreat are currently being explored. These include the launch of a new Methodological Special Interest Group.

Research Methods e-Festivals

The 2021 Research Methods e-Festival took place in October 2021. Organised by NCRM and methods@manchester, the festival featured more than 80 sessions over five days, with more than 130 speakers offering diverse perspectives on the festival’s theme: innovation, adaptation and evolution of the social sciences.

The 2023 Research Methods e-Festival took place between 7 and 9 November 2023. The festival programme featured 100 sessions over three days. Professor Mark Reed gave the keynote on evidencing impact before we announced the winners of the NCRM Impact Prize.

The events are part of our ongoing series of Research Methods Festivals, which take place every two years. Before the first online event in 2021, the festivals were held in person at universities across the UK.

Spring, summer and autumn schools

NCRM's spring, summer and autumn schools have developed a cross-disciplinary focus. The 2015 school focused on radical interdisciplinarity, and interdisciplinarity has been inherent in all of the subsequent schools.

The 2019 summer school on visualisation included talks by speakers from fields as diverse as the history of art and materials engineering, as well as one by a professional photographer. The participants were divided into cross-disciplinary teams that worked together on exercises across the five days.

In 2021, the spring school was delivered in the format of an online Python bootcamp over five weeks, enabling an ongoing opportunity for applying learning into practice settings. In 2022, the University of Exeter hosted the NCRM/Exeter Computational Communication Methods Spring School.

The NCRM/Exeter Computational Communication Methods Spring School took place at the University of Exeter in April 2022. The programme covered approaches such as machine learning and network analysis, with speakers discusses how to apply the methods in communication research, looking at text, images and social media data.

The 2nd NCRM/Exeter Computational Communication Methods Spring School was held in April 2023, again at the University of Exeter. As with the first event, the spring school covered various computational approaches, with training available at introductory and advanced levels, catering for both social scientists and data scientists.

NCRM’s 2024 summer school took place at the University of Edinburgh between 26 and 28 June. The free event, Large and Complex Social Surveys – New Horizons, provided training on the use of new and existing survey data in social science research. The theme of the summer school was how survey-based social research can inform the development of policy, practices and service provision, and shape legislation. NCRM covered costs for accommodation, meals and refreshments.

The NCRM Autumn School 2024 is an in-person, intensive training event that will focus on digital research methods. The three-day event, Foundations of Digital Research Methods: An Advanced Critical Introduction, takes place on 28-30 October 2024. It will provide attendees with an advanced critical introduction to five foundational aspects of digital research methods by leading experts in the field.