The training will be delivered by staff at the University of Exeter Q Step Centre and international experts.

University of Exeter new partner in £2.8million ESRC investment in social science methods training

University of Exeter experts will help to train academics from throughout the UK in cutting-edge research methods as part of a major new national initiative.

The university is a partner in the newly funded, next phase, of the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM).

Academics across the UK, including in Exeter, have been awarded £2.8million until 2024 to help to support social scientists to conduct world-leading research through innovative training and capacity-building activities.

The training will be aimed at postgraduate students and early career researchers at any stage of their career, and will be delivered by staff at the University of Exeter Q Step Centre and international experts.

The funding, from the Economic and Social Research Council, will pay for a comprehensive programme of cutting-edge research methods training across the UK.  It will include support for those working with quantitative and qualitative data, and training can be developed to suit the needs of academics.  This includes face-to-face, and online training. The training will be delivered through e-books, videos and interactive slide decks.

Professor Susan Banducci, Director of the University of Exeter Q Step Centre, said: “We will develop and deliver training in computational social science methods but suited to the needs of social scientists across the UK, and we are keen to hear from researchers at Exeter them about which other courses they would welcome.

“Today’s social science researchers in politics, sociology and other social science subjects use a range of types of data and methods. NCRM will be a resource to support them, providing training in methods to analyse so they can continue their important work.”

NCRM is delivered through a partnership of: The Universities of Southampton, Manchester and Edinburgh, UCL, Bristol, Exeter, Essex, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow, as well as the research organisations NatCen and WISERD.

Check the Exeter Q-Step webpage and this bulleting for announcements of training activities. The team would welcome suggestions for training and capacity building activities. Please contact Professor Banducci at s.a.banducci@exeter.ac.uk

Date: 17 March 2020