Writing Across Boundaries: Explorations in Research, Writing and Rhetoric in Qualitative Research
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Anthropology
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
Publications
Humphrey R
(2012)
Negotiating a 'Scary Gap': Doctoral Candidates, 'Writing Up' Qualitative Data and the Contemporary Supervisory Relationship
in Journal of Education and Training Studies
Simpson B
(2010)
Writing Across Boundaries: reflections on the place of writing in doctoral research training for social scientists
in Learning and Teaching
| Description | In line with RDI objectives we have been able to provide doctoral training that is 'advanced, high level and focused' at a crucial point in a researcher's development. Specifically, ? the involvement of a wide range of disciplines has ensured that this training is beyond either generic or subject-specific skills. ? We have met a recognisable need and, through the development of the proposed DTC, we have contributed to a regional training infrastructure in the social sciences. ? the WAB initiative has met the RDI's objective of enhancing transferable skills by providing training of a kind that is not found elsewhere within university programmes and to do so through innovative and experimental training. Evaluation: Evaluation has taken place in three stages: 1) at the workshop we had two participant observers who took notes and discussed what was going on with participants. Short reports were produced by the participant observers following the workshops. 2) Immediately after the workshop all the participants were asked to fill in a short questionnaire on Blackboard The overall response rate across the three years was 82%. The responses were overwhelmingly positive and indicated that participants not only enjoyed the workshop but that it also had a significant impact on their capacity to write. We have included this feedback at the end of this Report, in its entirety. 3) Six months after the workshop we undertook telephone interviews with participants and their supervisors [Response rate 53% for students and 50% for supervisors]. These responses were similarly positive and highlighted some of the ways in which the workshop had helped [gave confidence, enabled reframing to take place, gave clearer understanding of writing as a skill]. |
| Exploitation Route | • Generally, we have been taken aback by the success of this venture. It feels as though we identified a genuine gap in doctoral training provision and provided exactly the kind of response that was needed. The effect has been very gratifying. • We are interested to note that since the appearance of the WAB workshop there has been an increased interest in writing more generally with several courses being offered supporting researchers in their writing. • In the development of the joint Durham/ Newcastle bid for an ESRC recognised Doctoral Training Centre, the WAB project provided something of a model for how regional collaboration in advanced training could operate. Furthermore, the WAB initiative is likely to feature as a sustainable element in the running of the proposed North East DTC. |
| Sectors | Education |
| URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/writingacrossboundaries/ |
| Description | • The Workshops - the workshops have been a pleasure to be involved with and the feedback is among the most positive we have received for any teaching events. This in turn is a reflection of the particular need we were able to fulfil for these students at this point in their studies. The gradual extension of the catchment beyond the North-East, to the rest of the UK and eventually to Europe worked well and resulted in some excellent cohorts to work with. • The Website - the website has provided a major focal point for the project and reached a wide audience [See appendix seven for Google analytics]. The website contains major sections on: Drafting and Plotting, the Data-Theory Relationship, Narrative, Rhetoric, and Representation. We have also included a general section containing Hints and Tips on Writing. These pages contained a large volume of essays, articles, bibliographies and links which are relevant for writers in the social sciences. Within the website we have developed a section entitled Writers on Writing for which we invited a number of social science luminaries to contribute a short piece in which they reflected on their own experience of writing. The results were intriguing and have been widely accessed by students and researchers. The contributors to date include: Marilyn Strathern; Irving Horowitz; William Outhwaite; Liz Stanley; Julian Le Grand; Norman Denzin; Bryan S. Turner; JP Roos; Arthur Kleinman; Alan Mcfarlane; Ken Plummer; Harry F. Wolcott; Alan Walker; Jaber Gubrium; Howard S. Becker; Patrick Sullivan; Arthur W. Frank; Tim Ingold; Harvey Molotch; Roy Wagner; Catherine Finer Jones; Shulamit Reinharz; Paul Nchoji Nkwi. . Also within the website we have developed a section for research postgraduates researchers to submit short articles to us on any aspect of the process of writing in postgraduate study. We have received seven unsolicited pieces to date: |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |