Research Skills Master Programme

Research Skills Master Programme

An online programme to provide PhD students, junior postdocs and early-career research academics with a broad range of essential skills.

Structure:

Publication date: October 2013

Programme structure:

Number of courses: 18
Core activities: 45 hours
Additional activities: over 200 hours

Overview:

Research Skills Master Programme provides PhD students, junior postdocs and early-career research academics with a broad range of essential skills. The courses are designed to improve the effectiveness of researchers and also equip students with the skills they will need in their careers, whether inside or outside of academia.

This programme features full compatibility with mobile devices, revised content and a series of new pedagogical features including nearly 200 hours of supplementary online and offline activities to engage participants and consolidate learning.

This course is for:

This programme is developed for:

Masters Students
PhD Students
Junior postdocs
Academics who have recently begun their research careers

Contributing team:

Lead Advisor: Dr Douglas Halliday – Former Dean of the Graduate School and current Director of the Multidisciplinary Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy, Durham University

Expert Contributors:

Professor Priscilla Alderson -- Professor Emerita of Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, University of London

Professor Ruth Soetendorp -- Associate Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management, Bournemouth University

Dr Adam J Bock -- Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Edinburgh and a serial entrepreneur in the medical field.

Dr Helen Laville -- Head of the Department of American and Canadian Studies, University of Birmingham; member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College

Dr Deborah Longworth -- Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Birmingham

Professor Paul Langford -- Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London

Dr Helen Aveyard -- Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University

Gary Roper -- Head of Regulatory Compliance, Clinical Research Governance Office, Imperial College London

Tom Davie -- Former Head of Sunderland Futures and the Careers and Employability Service, University of Sunderland

Dr Shailendra Vyakarnam -- Cambridge University, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

Simon Stockley -- Senior Teaching Faculty in Entrepreneurship at Cambridge Judge Business School and Deputy Director of Accelerate Cambridge

Hedley Christ -- Senior Lecturer in Law, Jean Monnet Centre, Facolta di Giurisprudenza, University of Perugia; Visiting Lecturer, Institut de Droit Canonique, University of Paris; Law Department, University of Brighton

Professor Flora Samuel -- Head of the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield

Dr Keith Hart -- Senior Research Fellow, Central Biotechnology Services, School of Medicine, Cardiff University

Katherine Fletcher -- Senior Project Manager, University of Oxford

Declan J. Cunningham -- Tutor in Project Management at the University of Limerick

Andrey Timoshkin -- Consultant at Imperial College Consultants Ltd; former researcher at the Centre for Health Management, Imperial College London

Course features:

The course explains the features and learning tools used throughout the Research Skills programme and contains a diagnostic quiz to highlight the courses most relevant to individual participants’ needs.

Course highlights include:

The courses will prepare students with the skills they will need in their careers, whether inside or outside of academia.
Each course is packed with informative videos that cover the essentials of research skills
The courses feature 45 hours of core learning material and extensions and reflective activities and includes over 200 hours of supplementary online and offline activities that are highly interactive to engage participants and consolidate learning.
Scenario activities provide valuable feedback for an optimal learning experience.
Portfolio activities help users apply content to their own context and develop action plans, and interactive polls allow learners to reflect on their learning
Improves future employability
Helps support your current research work

Learning Outcome:

Completing this course will:

Develop your understanding of the importance of undertaking a skills training programme at the start of a doctorate or early research career
Introduce you to the structure and features of the Research Skills programme
Help you to identify which Research Skills courses will be most relevant to you, according to your individual abilities and needs.

Structure:

Course and timings / Overview / Contributors
Introduction to the Research Skills Master Programme
Core Hours: 1 hour / Introduction to the Research Skills Master Programme highlights and explains the importance of skills training for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers with the help of a video featuring current PhD researchers, experienced academics and a variety of graduate employers.
Syllabus:

Module 1: The purpose of the Research Skills Master Programme
Module 2: Using the Research Skills Master Programme

/ First Edition Author: Dr Richard Hinchcliffe, Director of Postgraduate Training, University of Liverpool
First Edition Reviewer: Dr Paul Walker, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Advancement of Learning and Technology, UCL
Intellectual property in the research context
Core Hours: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Additional Hours: 11 hours / An awareness of intellectual property and related issues is now essential for anyone working within the research context. This course is a short introduction to the topic, covering the main different intellectual property rights (IPRs), the importance of confidentiality and ownership and exploitation. The course offers a wealth of further resources and information on who to turn to for further advice on IP issues.
Syllabus:

Module 1: An introduction to IP
Module 2: Patents
Module 3: Trade marks
Module 4: copyright
Module 5: Design rights
Module 6: Scenario
Module 7: Confidentiality, ownership and exploitation

Module 8: Scenario

/ First Edition Author: Hedley Christ, Senior Lecturer in Law, Jean Monnet Centre, Facolta di Giurisprudenz, University of Perugia; Visiting Lecturer, Institut de Driot Canonique, University of Paris; Law Department, University of Brighton
First Edition Author: Claire Howell, Senior Lecturer in Law, Aston Business School
Second Edition Author: Professor Ruth Soetendorp, Associate Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management, Bournemouth University
Getting published in the arts
Core Hours: 2 hours
Additional Hours: 12 hours / The aim of this course is to give guidance and support to arts and humanities researchers who are keen to put their research into the public realm, through academic papers and books. The course will explore the different types of publication available and guide participants through the processes involved in getting a journal article or academic book published, including selecting material, writing an article or book proposal and the peer review process.
Syllabus:

Module 1: The publishing landscape
Module 2: Academic journals: An overview
Module 3: Writing an academic journal article
Module 4: Submitting a journal article
Module 5: Publishing books

/ First Edition Author: Professor Flora Samuel, Head of the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield
First Edition Author: Professor Stephen Taylor, Professor of Early Modern History and former Director of the Graduate School, University of Reading
Second Edition Author: Dr Helen Laville, Head of the Department of American and Canadian Studies, University of Birmingham; member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College
Getting published in the sciences
Core Hours: 2 hours
Additional Hours: 11 hours / This course aims to encourage researchers in the sciences to publish and guide them through the processes involved in publishing an academic article, including identifying when and where to publish, how to write and prepare a paper for submission and the peer review process. The course may also be helpful for researchers in the social sciences using experimental research methods.
Syllabus:

Module 1: The publishing landscape
Module 2: Getting ready to publish
Module 3: Submitting your paper
Module 4: The editorial process

Module 5: Tips from the top

/ First and Second Edition Author: Dr Keith Hart, Senior Research Fellow, Central Biotechnology Services, School of Medicine, Cardiff University
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Peter Barnes, Professor of Thoracic Medicine and Head of Airway Disease at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London
Ethics 1: Good research in practice
Core Hours: 2 hours
Additional Hours: 6 hours / This course covers standard practice and recent changes in universities’ ethics policies relating to research that investigates people and their data
Syllabus:

Module 1: An introduction to research ethics
Module 2: Ethics in practice
Module 3: A brief history of ethics and its implications
Module 4: Further questions on research ethics
Module 5: Ethics review and reflections

/ First and Second Edition Author: Professor Priscilla Alderson, Professor Emerita of Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, University of London
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Bobbie Farsides, Professor of Clinical and Biomedical Ethics at Brighton and Sussex Medical School
Ethics 2: Research with humans in the health and social sciences
Core Hours: 3 hours
Additional Hours: 10 hours / This course is about the ethics of involving human participants – directly or indirectly – in research in health or the social sciences. The course explains how ethics is central to high standards during all stages of research and aims to introduce researchers to the major law, policies and guidelines relevant to research involving human participants
Syllabus:

Module 1: Research with human participants, subjects or objects: Introduction
Module 2: Ethics and regulation
Module 3: Informed consent: Introduction
Module 4: Informed consent: Accessibility of information
Module 5: Informed consent: Children
Module 6: Informed consent: Adults with learning difficulties
Module 7: Confidentiality

Module 8: Liability and inducement

/ First Editions Author: Gary Roper, Head of Regulatory Compliance, Clinical Research Governance Office, Imperial College London
Second Edition Author: Professor Priscilla Alderson, Professor Emerita of Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, University of London
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Richard Ashcroft, Professor of Biomedical Ethics at Queen Mary, University of London
Second Edition Reviewer: Professor Richard Ashcroft, Professor of Biomedical Ethics at Queen Mary, University of London
Managing your research project
Core Hours: 3 hours
Additional Hours: 17 hours / This course is designed to help participants to organise their approach to undertaking, leading or helping to lead a research project. The lessons are particular relevant for doctoral researchers in all disciplines. The course will demonstrate how researchers can use established ‘project management’ techniques to help successfully carry out their research, and will introduce a variety of planning and problem-solving techniques to help participants work out the best approach for your particular project.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Introduction to managing your research project
Module 2: People, roles and responsibilities
Module 3: Early preparation for your research project
Module 4: Detailed project planning
Module 5: Carrying out your research project

/ First Edition Author: Andrey Timoshkin, Consultant at Imperial College Consultants Ltd; former researcher at the Centre for Health Management, Imperial College London
First Edition Author: Declan J Cunningham, Tutor in Project Management at the University of Limerick
Second Edition Author: Katherine Fletcher, Senior Project Manager, University of Oxford
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Chris Toumazou, Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Circuit Design at Imperial College London
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Michael Orren, Professor of Oceanography, Cardiff University; Founder Director of the Board of the Irish National Marine Institute
Career planning in the arts, humanities and social sciences
Core Hours: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Additional Hours: 6 hours / This course aims to encourage postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to start thinking about their future career options as early as possible, and offers practical techniques and suggestions to help identify and manage suitable career paths as successfully as possible. The techniques suggested in the course will be valuable whether participants are planning a career in academia or exploring a variety of alternative career options.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Understanding your values and motivations
Module 2: Your skills toolkit
Module 3: Choosing your career path
Module 4: Effective applications

Module 5: Interviews and assessment centres

/ First Edition Author: Tom Davie, Deputy Head of Careers at Durham University Careers Advisory Service
First and Second Edition Author: Dr Kathy Barrett, Careers Advisor, University College London and SOAS
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Shearer West, Head of the Division of Humanities, University of Oxford
Career planning in the sciences
Core Hours: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Additional Hours: 7 hours / This course aims to encourage postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in the sciences to start thinking about their future career options as early as possible, and offers practical techniques and suggestions to help identify and manage suitable career paths as successfully as possible. The techniques suggested in the course will be valuable whether participants are planning a career in academia or exploring a variety of alternative career options.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Understanding your motivations and constraints
Module 2: your skills toolkit
Module 3: Identify your career path
Module 4: Develop your action plan
Module 5: Top tips for getting that job

/ First Editions Author: Dr Denise Best, Academic Clinical Careers Manager, Clinical Academic Graduate School, University of Oxford
Second Edition Author: Dr Kathy Barrett, Careers Advisor Consultant for Researchers, Queen Mary University of London
First Edition Reviewer: Dr Tracey Bussoli, Careers Consultant for Researchers, Queen Mary University of London
Working with your supervisor
Core Hours: 2 hours
Additional Hours: 9 hours / This course aims to encourage postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to reflect on their relationship with their research supervisor or principal investigator, and to take proactive steps to improve and maintain a positive, professional relationship with their supervisor for the duration of their research project.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Getting started
Module 2: Getting to know your supervisor
Module 3: Meetings and communications
Module 4: Feedback and advice
Module 5: What to do when things go wrong

Module 6: Top tips

/ First Edition Author: Professor Paul Langford, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London
Second Edition Author: Dr Deborah Longworth, Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Birmingham
First Edition Reviewer: Corony Edwards, Director of Educational Development, University of Birmingham
Conferences, presenting and networking
Core Hours: 2 hours
Additional Hours: 20 hours / This course is aimed at encouraging postgraduate and postdoctoral researcher to attend conferences and improve their present and networking skills. The course explains why it is important to attend conferences, how to select an appropriate conference and how to get the most out of conference attendance. The course also offers tips on academic networking and valuable advice on organising a conference.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Selecting a conference
Module 2: Presenting
Module 3: Networking
Module 4: Organising a conference
Module 5: Self-appraisal and feedback

/ First Edition Author: Professor Paul Langford, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London
Second Edition Author: Dr Deborah Longworth, Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Birmingham
Second Edition Author: Dr Keith Hart, Senior Research Fellow, Central Biotechnology Services, School of Medicine, Cardiff University
First Edition Reviewers: Professor Stephen Taylor, Professor of Early Modern History and former Director of the Graduate School, University of Reading & Corony Edwards, Director of Educational Development, University of Birmingham
Research methods in the arts and humanities
Core Hours: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Additional Hours: 9 hours / This course aims to develop an awareness of the practical and conceptual skills that support effective independent scholarly research in the arts and humanities. The end goal is to help researchers to understand the issues involved in making an informed choice about the methodology and approach most suitable for their own specific project.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Introducing research methodology in the arts and humanities
Module 2: Approaching archives, artefacts and other evidence
Module 3: Thinking critically, thinking theoretically
Module 4: Understanding disciplinary and interdisciplinary

Module 5: Is it working?

/ First and Second Edition Author: Dr Deborah Longworth, Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Birmingham
First and Second Edition Author: Dr Helen Laville, Head of the Department of American and Canadian Studies, University of Birmingham; member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Stephen Taylor, Professor of Early Modern History and former Director of the Graduate School, University of Reading
Research methods in the social sciences
Core Hours: 3 hours
Additional Hours: 11 hours / This course aims to support doctoral and postdoctoral researchers undertaking independent research in the social sciences. The course provides guidance on the different research processes, from the early stages of framing a research question, through conducting the research, to writing up findings and publication.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Before you get started
Module 2: Framing your research question
Module 3: Planning considerations
Module 4: Designing your research
Module 5: Data collection
Module 6: Data analysis
Module 7: Starting your research
Module 8: Reporting your research

/ First and Second Edition Author: Dr Helen Aveyard, Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University
First and Second Edition Author: Dr Gordon Rugg, Senior Lecturer, School of Computing and Mathematics, Keele University
Research methods in the sciences
Core Hours: 3 hours
Additional Hours: 7 hours / This course aims to support doctoral and postdoctoral researchers undertaking independent research in the sciences. The course provides guidance on the different research processes, from the early stages of framing a research question, through conducting the research, to writing up findings and publication.
Syllabus:

Module 1: What is science?
Module 2: Identifying and formulating the research question
Module 3: Evaluating research questions
Module 4: Designing and planning your research

Module 5: Reflection and communication

/ First Edition Author: Dr Gordon Rugg, Senior Lecturer, School of Computing and Mathematics, Keele University
First Edition Author: Dr Nick Sevdalis, Senior Lecturer Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London
First Edition Author: Dr Muttukrishnan Rajaran, Course Director, Multi-Media Internet Systems Enginerring, City University London
First Edition Author: Professor Paul Langford, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London
Second Edition Author: Dr Keith Hart, Senior Research Fellow, Central Biotechnology Services, School of Medicine, Cardiff University
Research methods in literature review
Core Hours: 3 hours
Additional Hours: 12 hours / This course aims to give doctoral and postdoctoral researchers a sound understanding of the literature review process. Examples are taken from many different disciplines and will be relevant to all researchers, regardless of academic field.
Syllabus:

Module 1: What is a literature review
Module 2: Searching for literature
Module 3: Evaluation of the literature
Module 4: Writing up your review

/ First and Second Edition Author: Dr Helen Aveyard, Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University
First Edition Reviewer: Professor William O’Connor, Head of Teaching and Research in Physiology, University of Limerick
Academic entrepreneurship: an introduction
Core Hours: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Additional Hours: 6 hours / Researchers taking this course will learn about entrepreneurial motivation, appetite for risk, skills and capabilities, and what makes entrepreneurs successful. They will also get a good overview of how an entrepreneurial journey fits together, and how their own journey might take shape.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Entrepreneurship in the academic context
Module 2: An introduction to entrepreneurial motivation
Module 3: Characteristics of a successful entrepreneur

Module 4: Entrepreneurship and you

/ First Edition Author: Dr Shailendra Vyakarnam, Cambridge University, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
First and Second Edition Author: Dr Adam J Bock, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Edinburgh and a serial entrepreneur in the medical field
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Gerard George, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and also Deputy Dean at the Imperial College Business School
Entrepreneurial opportunities: recognition and evaluation
Core Hours: 3 hours
Additional Hours: 8 hours / This course will help researchers to understand why and how opportunities arise and to spot opportunities which could add value to their current environment. Participants will also learn to evaluate ideas and assess whether they are worth pursuing, as well as receiving guidance on how best to argue a business case for their ideas.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Origins of opportunity
Module 2: Opportunity recognition
Module 3: Opportunity evaluation: Introduction
Module 4: Opportunity evaluation: Industry attractiveness
Module 5: Opportunity evaluation: Intellectual property
Module 6: Opportunity evaluation: Detailed evaluation
Module 7: Business planning

/ First Edition Author: Simon Stockley, Senior Teaching Faculty in Entrepreneurship at Cambridge Judge Business School and Deputy Director of Accelerate Cambridge
First and Second Edition Author: Dr Adam J Bock, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Edinburgh and a serial entrepreneur in the medical field
First Edition Reviewer: Professor Gerard George, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and also Deputy Dean at the Imperial College Business School
Entrepreneurial resources: people, teams and finance
Core Hours: 3 hours
Additional Hours: 6 hours / This course aims to help researchers think in a logical and systematic way about the resources required to start a successful venture. Participants will gain an understanding of the importance of social capital and the best ways to recruit and select founding members. They will also learn how best to raise appropriate financial capital and will become aware of sources of help and advice available to nascent entrepreneurs.
Syllabus:

Module 1: Resource acquisition
Module 2: Social capital
Module 3: Human capital
Module 4: Raising financial capital: Introduction

Module 5: Raising financial capital: Valuation and investment

Developed in collaboration with: