Researcher Development Initiative (RDI), 2005 - 2010

01/04/10 - 30/09/11

This project will provide practical training and training materials for students, researchers and support staff in the social sciences on key issues pertinent to managing and sharing social science research data. The emphasis is on focused activities in an area of need recognised across the UK – on all aspects of ‘data handling’. Training will focus on the core skills that are vital for the practices of both primary data collection and secondary analysis. These are: why and how to share research data; ethics, consent and confidentiality when sharing research data; copyright and the use of existing data resources; data description, contextualisation and documentation; data formats and software; and data storage, back-up, and security. These skills, which we would like to see become an integral part of all post-graduate training programmes, should not only maximise the impact of a researcher's own research but also foster greater appreciation of the use of secondary sources. A programme of workshops will be held around the country, with a number of travel bursaries available for post-graduate students.

The training programme will run around 8-10 events over 18 months and will use hands-on, practical training methods based on expertise and archived data sources from the UK Data Archive. The project will focus on engaging with trainee and new researchers but will also run train the trainers sessions with senior research, lecturing and front-line staff in Universities such as librarians, IT staff and local ethics committee coordinators. The project will make use of issues discussed and feedback arising from workshops in the creation of reusable workshop materials, to ensure that they cover both relevant and practical matters to a wide range of research-based audiences.

Principal Investigator: Ms Louise Corti, University of Essex
Co-Investigators: Dr Veerle Van den Eynden, University of Essex

Dr Elizabeth Bishop, University of Essex.

Contact Details

Ms Louise Corti,
University of Essex

Email: corti@essex.ac.uk
Tel: 01206 872145