Book notes

with Lara Sanderson, Tracy Rodgers, Sylvia Robertson, Megan Anakin, Keely Blanch & Barrie Irving.

There are those books on your shelf, in your tablet, alphabetised and end-noted that you just could never have done without. This week, PGLives ask you as a member of the PGLives community to leave a comment on what research book you could never have done without! Also please feel free to leave a comment with your favourite summer read (I need to go sit on a beach somewhere!!).

This post is dedicated to the book nerd in all of us that I know is just itching to be released on the world!! Here is what some of the inner book nerds of Postgraduate Lives Community had to say about their favourite research book or in many cases books!!


Tracy:
The one research book that I have found most useful so far is 'The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers' by Johnny Saldana. It has great tips on coding, keeping analytic memos, and sets everything up using nice simple language. Highly recommend it for novice researchers and those wanting a better understanding of the different ways you can tackle coding your data.

Lara:
Oooh a bit of a cheat here because mine is an edited book!! So lots of variety!! The one book that I could not have ever done without and was a revelation when I found it is Poetic Inquiry: Vibrant voices in the social sciences edited by Monica Prendergast, Carl Leggo and Pauline Sameshima. It even has a sequel!!! I cannot wait!!

Syliva: 
I have lots of faves but I guess a basic one that I referred to frequently in the beginning when writing my methodology chapter - Michael Quinn Patton (2002) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. SAGE Publications, California. Why do I like him? Simple, clear and to the point. Easy to navigate. Creswell I also like and I enjoyed reading various Lincoln & Guba texts (dated perhaps but some really good first principles stuff for qualitative research). Hmm... as I get thinking back there are lots of others - researching the research part was fun!




 

Megan: 
There is no one book for me at the moment. But you can’t beat:

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.  To get you going and for reassuring you when you are feeling lost and alone.  

For doing qualitative analysis I can’t live without Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237-246.

For doing basic inferential stats, I can’t use SPSS well without those 3-5 minute YouTube video clips by various professors around the world. There isn’t a question I can’t find an answer to out there.

So it’s a mixed bag from me. Book, article, internet resources.

Keely:

It's so difficult to pick just one book! However, since coming across Miller, Birch, Mauthner and Jessop's (2012) book, 'Ethics in Qualitative Research', I have found myself pulling it out when planning research and considering methodology. A couple of chapters have been especially useful - Ch4 addressing issues of gate-keeping and 'informed' consent, and Ch7 which addresses interviews and 'doing rapport', both useful chapter if researching and interviewing with young people. I'm sure I'm not the only one who will mention there are other go-to books such as Cresswell, Crotty, Denscombe, or Babbie, which are all useful for methodology

Theoretically, my copy of Doreen Massey's, 'for space' is getting a workout with my Phd, providing insights into ways of thinking about spaces of interrelations, and how this concept meshes with concepts of online/offline. Plus, given my topic, I can't ignore Engin Isin's various works theorising citizenship, especially his latest book theorising 'Being digital citizen', which was an insightful read as I approached analysis

Barrie:

I found the following book invaluable: Rogers, R. (Ed.) (2004). An introduction to critical discourse analysis in education. Manwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Rogers outlines the complex and competing approaches to critical discourse analysis, and the various edited chapters engage with both the critiques and possibilities in practice.

Also, as my research drew on a (critical) social constructionist perspective, chapters by Mary-Sue Richardson (pp. 87-104), and Stead & Backer (pp. 29-44) in McIlveen, P., & Schultheiss, D. E. (Eds.). (2012). Social constructionism in vocational psychology and career development. Rotterdam, NL:  helped to clarify the differences between constructivist and constructionist perspectives, and how these provide different explanations of social life, bringing into question the dominance of psychology in relation to human behaviour.  



Now its your turn to add to the list - is there a must have, gotta read, O.M.G. you forgot that one!!? 








[Photo credits: unsplash.com]

Issues of consent and competency

by Keely Blanch

I started out meaning to write this post about researching in 'over-researched' fields, but as is often the case another idea popped up as I sat down to write. Consent, specifically issues of consent and competency to give that consent, by young people. At what age is a young person considered capable of giving consent for participation in research or other activities?

This thought was spurred by a story that has been in the media over the last few days regarding a young woman, in a metal cage, on the front of a 'monster truck' that was then driven through a wall of fire. It turns out that this young woman is only 13 years old, which raises questions regarding her ability to consent to what could be described as a calculated risk. 

There are differing understandings of young people's ability to consent in different contexts. The ways we understand children and childhood have changed within a research-based context. Recognising the rights of the child, young people are regarded as competent agents, capable of giving assent, and often consent, to participating in research. 

However the age where the line shifts from requiring parental consent and child assent, to requiring child consent and perhaps parental assent is blurry. For instance, at a recent conference I heard one researcher argue his ethics committee negated children's ability to consent under the age of 16, an age perhaps influenced by legalistic determinations of ability to consent to intercourse. On the other hand, some researchers argue we should consider the competency of young people rather than chronological age as a marker for providing consent. Researchers and ethics committees can vary in how they determine the competency of a young person to give consent. 

As I listened to the radio interview with the Monster Truck owner, I began to compare this situation to other contexts. How does this compare to children who perform in circuses? What if this was a movie set - would Sir Peter Jackson be allowed to use a 13 year old in a potentially dangerous stunt? Can this be compared to young people's rights to consent, or not, regarding medical procedures? I think, like many ethical decisions, it depends. It depends upon factors such as risk, harm, benefits and whether the young person can be deemed competent to understand how these situations will affect them, and how their bodies, thoughts, and words will be used by others.

If the Monster Truck stunt had been a research project, it would have had to go through an ethics committee who would have considered these factors. An ethics committee acts to protect the safety of research participants. The researcher and ethics committee would have considered the risk of harm versus the benefit to the young person. They would have insisted that everyone involved was fully informed and understood the ramifications. They would have wanted to see a plan to minimise risk, and they would have wanted an indication that the young person would gain some benefit from participating. 

Given that, at the time of writing, the only voice in the media regarding this stunt is that of the owner, we cannot really ascertain whether this young person was fully informed regarding risk. We are forced to accept the owner's assertion that she freely consented and wanted to participate at face value, and it seems the parents also consented to the stunts. 

However, I am still left pondering some points:

- from what I heard on the radio, apparently the stunt evolved from discussions over dinner between the owner and the young person's parents, who are old friends. Potentially, this could raise issues of coercion, and the ability to freely give consent.

- it is unclear whether either the young person and her parents have been involved with Monster truck stunts before, whether they were fully informed of potential risks, and whether they fully understood those risks. I return to the concept of the circus performers. One might assume that growing up in an environment and seeing the training required, and the impact of mistakes, may provide an experiential understanding of risks involved with performances. A quick google provided several media reports (here and here) that talk of the training and time required to learn stunts. Being told what to do over a few weeks is different to the intensive training that leads to an automatic reaction when/if something goes wrong. I'm left wondering if this young person received training on what to do if she caught fire, whether she had practice runs on the stunt, whether she practiced getting out of the cage, and whether there was an arranged signal for the driver if she wanted to call off the stunt at any point.

- What benefit did this young person receive from taking part? For instance, her father claims she wants to be a stuntwoman, and successfully completing the stunt may have boosted the young person's self-confidence, but in a commercial venture, could/should she have expected to be paid for her participation?

Of course, instances like this are not research. Such events are not dependent upon approval by an ethics committee. As such, consent, and the ability to give consent, becomes an issue for the law. We only have to look at the varying (socially-constructed) ages of consent (without additional parental consent) and/or competency for choices such as smoking (16), sex (16), driving (16), voting (18), marriage (18), joining the police force (18), and gun licence/ ownership (16) to see that judgments on competency and ability to consent to processes vary widely. 

Which raises some questions - should there be age related markers of competency to consent? Or should we consider other ways of assessing competency, and if so, how? And in research, which is more important - the competency or the chronological age of  participants?

[Do check out our resources page which has links to a couple of sites about researching with children.]

On Work/Life Balance

By Syliva Robertson

Just a thought, but I think the notion of work/life balance is open to debate. Why have we become so taken with this notion? For many people, work is an important part of life for all sorts of reasons. I started working in the eighties. As far as I can recall the concept of work/life balance did not exist. I left school and undertook tertiary education believing I would work eventually. I was pretty realistic about what this meant. Work equalled money and, if you chose right, some sense of enjoyment, fulfilment and perhaps even vocation, was to be had in the workplace. If you didn’t like what you had chosen, you anticipated changing. 

The idea of work/life balance wasn’t relevant. If you felt this, then quite possibly, you were in the wrong occupation. For me, the eighties was a heady time. 80-hour weeks were common but the rewards opened up possibilities that our parents could only have dreamed of. Yes, towards the end of the decade I worried about burning out or imploding like the financial markets, but I was hooked. I loved the pace, the excitement, and the ‘fly by the seat of your pants and let tomorrow take care of itself’ mentality. I went offshore in the early nineties and continued to embrace new challenges, still working 60-70 hour weeks and rarely thinking about balance. I loved what I was doing. I haven’t ever got to a point where I felt work was somehow encroaching on what I valued about life or for that matter, leisure. 

Now you may suggest I ‘live to work’ rather than ‘working to live’ but take a moment to think about work/life balance. Is ‘work’ really in such conflict with ‘life’ that there is a need to balance one off against the other? Perhaps this phrase is a just subversive little mantra that simply fuels stress as we seek (perhaps hopelessly) to balance work with life? Should we not be encouraged to accept and hopefully, enjoy work as part of life?

(Photo credit: upsplash.com)

Surviving the PhD & Zombies

*Caution moving images below*

by Lara Sanderson

I wanted to start this blog post with a huge thanks to Dr. Katherine Runswick-Cole and Dr. Michael Gaffney for their guest blog posts! I also want to thank all the previous contributors, because they are the ones that truly make this blog and of course you the reader - for without you well - thank you to one and all!

So, a few blog posts ago Kim and I had started our journey through "How to survive your PhD" MOOC fom ANU - developed by Dr. Inger Mewburn and co. This week we are well over halfway through what has been an awesome way to reflect on the PhD journey I have been on.

In the MOOC we have covered the socio-historic constructions of both the University as an insitution and the PhD as a degree. Navigating emotions like confidence (or lack of with imposter syndrome),  frustration, fear and loneliness. Our latest module Curiosity asks us how to reflect on the things/people that inspired to do our topic and really explore (and remind) how our curiosity has pushed us to discover, uncover and create.

Each of the modules, including the confronting ones of fear and loneliness have allowed for frank and open discussion. The weekly tasks encourage creativity and the use of multi-media - like this stop motion animation that Kim and I (with the help of John, Kim's hubby) made about our feelings of imposter syndrome for the confidence module.
Our discussions and asides often spill out on to twitter. So does the creative multi-media, like this GIF I whipped up for the curiosity module.

For such a large MOOC  (over 1000 registered) there is a sense of community and camaraderie that you would expect to find in much smaller learning situations! Lots of resources and people willing to share resources from writing hints to healthy living!

So, what I have learnt so far is that I live in a perpetual state of imposter syndrome but thats ok because I work with it (most of the time). I am not alone in fearing presentations or the gym! Curiosity is what keeps me moving forward and what ultimately feeds my creativity. So as I turn into a Thesis Zombie - I know that I can draw on not only my local 4th floor community but also my new MOOC community in those momments of undead terror!

___________________________________________
GIF Credits
Best Cats in Boxes of 2014 Compliation
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies 2015 Movie Trailer
GIFS made via makeagif.com by Lara Sanderson 2015

Guest Blog: The distraction(s) of life

by Michael Gaffney 

One of the dilemmas of PG life for me was all the distractions I could find to make life more interesting. Well, you get to a point where anything is more interesting than writing a thesis. The harder it got, the more distractions there seemed to be. Writing this Blog is a distraction from other things I thought I would be doing this afternoon. By definition, it’s the distractions that make life more interesting than doing the hard stuff. Or is it that life is a distraction from something else.

There have been many to suggest that the ʻhere and nowʻ is not real, but that other places are, for example: “Never Land, Oz, Narnia, Elysium, nirvana, Shangri-la, Regno Caelorum, Wonderland, Paradisum, Zion, Avalon, the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Johnson, n.d., p. 2). So if life is a distraction, then so is the PhD. But not so fast! As much as life might be a distraction, it is my distraction. It is for me to decide how to be distracted. (A very individualistic position to take, but I will not distract myself with other possibilities. I had a thesis to write.) I decided to take on the thesis, so the real question is whether I want to continue to be distracted by it for a little longer. In the end I finished it. But it did not go away. 

I have published some stuff and I am determined to do some more, but other distractions keep coming along. I suspect that I am also becoming more comfortable with the distractions that I choose and life puts my way. I am better at playing with distractions and being in the moment. 

 

Of course I can afford to say these things, because I have now finished the thesis. For those who havenʻt, your turn will come. Kia kaha. 

Reference A.P. Johnson (n.d.) Disrupting time. www.opdt-johnson.com (I have not read this distraction yet, but looks like an interesting one.)

Guest Blog: Quite a lot like Scotland … but with penguins: reflections on a research trip to Otago

by Katherine Runswick-Cole

If you live in the UK and someone asks ‘what’s New Zealand like?’, then a common response is that it is ‘quite a lot like Scotland”. So after travelling to Dunedin as part of the research I’m involved with asking how people with learning disabilities are faring in a time of cuts in the UK (bigsocietydis.wordpress.com), I can confirm that it is, indeed, “quite a lot like Scotland … but with penguins!” 

Photo: Yellow-Eyed Penguin, Otago, New Zealand  by K Runswick-Cole

 And I guess that is a pretty good metaphor for trip as a whole. The reason for me to travel to New Zealand was to share the research findings (you can find more about that on our blog) and to learn about the New Zealand context. In order to do that, I had a series of meetings in my time in Dunedin. 

My first meeting was with People First Dunedin. This was an opportunity for me to ask the self-advocates about their lives in New Zealand. Our project was made up of three strands asking about people’s experiences of self-advocacy, employment and community living, so the conversation with People First ranged over these topics. The parallels between the experiences of self-advocates in the UK and New Zealand were clear. Self-advocacy is important; too few people with learning disabilities have access to work and people with learning disabilities still experience community exclusion, although those with the right support are living well. When I mentioned to the group that I would be meeting the Disability Rights Commissioner for New Zealand later in the week, the response was “Paul! We know him!”. That is very different from England where the size of the population means that it would be very unlikely for self-advocates to have such direct access to power. So a lot like the UK … but not quite … 

At the University of Otago, I gave a workshop on participatory research, again this would be very similar in both countries. But the wider Higher Education context is different. Back in England, the assessment of research is different and we have to try to measure the impact of our research on the ‘real world’ – we have to try to capture the different our research makes on people, practice and policy makers in a way that has yet to reach the New Zealand context. I was very lucky to meet a group of parents of disabled children in Dunedin. Sitting in the depths of winter (in my summer), I could have easily been sitting in a parents’ group in Manchester. Parents were talking of their fights for resources and for inclusion. And just as parents do at home, people were supporting one another, offering information and advice about how to navigate the ever-stormy seas of education services. A lot like home … 

And finally, I delivered a lecture alongside Paul Gibson, Disability Rights Commissioner for New Zealand. A familiar sort of venue and crowd – disabled people, self-advocates, students, teachers and academics – who were generous in their time and support and in coming to listen to a UK academic talking about the lives of people a million miles away who had discovered that New Zealand is a lot like Scotland … but with penguins! 

For more information about the project visit: bigsocietydis.wordpress.com or follow us on twitter @bigsocietydis 

For more information about Katherine visit: katherinerunswickcole.com or follow her on twitter @k_runswick__cole

Beyond the page: Little & Thursdays

by Lara Sanderson

This is (for now) the last post in the beyond the page series and it ends in a MOOC (massive open online course). A critical part of our postgrad journey is to maintain wellness, emotional and physical - hence why our passions are so important - they nourish our wellbeing so that we are better equipped to face anything that might come our way. 

The postgrad journey isn't an easy one and students often feel alone and isolated so at Australian National University, Dr. Inger Mewburn aka The Thesis Whisperer has set up a MOOC class for specifically PhD students (and friends, and supervisors) to survive your PhD. I first read her description from her blog and saw myself reflected in what she was describing; imposter syndrome and the yips (especially the yips). So I signed up that same day. I found out that Kim (fellow 4th floorer & PhD Candidate) had also decided to undertake the MOOC so Little & Thursdays was born. 

Little & Thursdays is so far Kim and I sitting in her office, meeting up, supporting each other to complete the tasks required of us. Last week was our first module - Kim and I met in her office - me with Hot Chocolate and Pain au Chocolat in my hands aka Breakfast, to read, write, and reflect. We were asked to introduce ourselves but also to think of what types of emotions we experience; a gentle introduction to the course that had us reflecting deeply on our experiences so far.

Being an online forum, it utilises Twitter with the hashtag #survivephd15 and conversations spill out from the MOOC on to twitter in an instant - I ended up a day later in a conversation about exercising tips, with tongue in cheek, I suggested office dancing, and the use of a dog as an exercising buddy both of which I subscribe to whole heartedly! I can be found on twitter @Lara_Sanderson 

I am excited to see what else is to come!

If you have joined this MOOC - let us know, we want to hear from you! If you have taken a MOOC before what have your experiences been?

Beyond the page: Baking your PhD

by Rafaela Rabello


After I started my PhD programme I decided to adopt strategies to keep me sane throughout this enriching, yet introspective journey. It all started years ago with my passion for cakes. I have always been very passionate about wedding cakes. I think I got this passion from my mother, who would count the seconds for the ‘cake-moment’ at wedding parties. 

When I had my daughter, Helena, I was living in the Amazon. The Amazon is REALLY VERY far away from my hometown - where my parents reside. For Helena’s first birthday, I thought of relieving the pain of living so far away from mom and dad and decided to surprise mom! So, I made Helena a big cake that was designed like a wedding cake, but it was thematic. The theme was wild life. The result of this bold experience was a really cute cake! I took lots of pictures of that cake and sent it to Mom, who was extremely excited about it. That cake was special – it surpassed all physical boundaries and distance. It connected directed to my mother’s heart.




For Helena’s second birthday, I had already moved to New Zealand and started my PhD. So, I decided to adopt the same strategy to shorten the distance between my Mom and I: making cakes. At that time, Helena was in love with the movie ‘finding Nemo’ and I decided to make her a Nemo cake. This was the first cake I made after starting the PhD journey. I had so much fun making that cake that I completely forgot about the worries of writing a chapter, or recruiting participants, you know? It was THE sacred, relaxing moment of just having fun and being creative. 

After the Nemo cake, I began asking my friends if they would want me to make their kids’ birthday cake. I found making creative cakes a great way of relaxing and having fun. So, a friend of mine, Roberta, asked me to make a cake for Bianca, her eight-year-old daughter. Bianca said she wanted her cake to be pink with lots of animals’ prints. While making Bianca’s cake, I was so relaxed and having so much fun that, interestingly, ideas for the PhD started blooming in my mind! The week after I made that cake I wrote half of a chapter! I was amazing! After Bianca’s cake, I made Antonio a Lego cake. And again the experience was very enriching. I was extremely productive in my PhD and had lots of relaxing time, altogether. 

Nevertheless, nothing compares the excitement I had when Another friend and colleague told me about her son’s wish for his birthday cake: a futuristic building! Wow, what an imagination!! That was superb and super fun! My mind went wild! Thinking of a futuristic building was thinking of trying different elements and patterns for cakes. I ended up projecting this challenge into my PhD chapter. Thinking of a different way of approaching my literature review – uhuuuu. 

Unfortunately, I got too creative, which did not go quite well. Maybe it was too confusing; 
nevertheless, it was definitely liberating and I had much, much fun being creative in my PhD! The experience of making this cake was wonderful and he loved it, which was very rewarding as well. Now I am ready for my next challenge: Alice in the wonderland! Seriously? It couldn’t get any better! I cannot stop thinking about it. My mind is bubbling with new ideas, textures, shapes and colours! And so is my PhD! What a nice way of baking, oopsy, sorry, making a tasty, colourful and creative pHd, sorry: PhD!

Beyond the page: Postgrad passions

by Lara Sanderson, Megan Anakin, Lien Trinh & Keely Blanch.

 It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, 

that man finds his supreme joys. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

In this collaborative post we welcome both new and regular contributors to this blog to reflect on their passions beyond the page. This marks the beginning of a series of posts celebrating not only the postgrad but the lives! Often encouraged to write a thesis in an area we are passionate about (so we maintain our focus), it is not surprising that our passions can in fact reflect our topic or vice versa. However, when deep in the thesis writing or research it is also those passions that tend to take a back seat to the task of producing a thesis. This can lead to a mourning the loss of those passions, yet as Megan reflects, its the everyday passions that can be incorporated so you never have a sense of 'missing out' or it can be a big reward like overseas travel as Lien discusses.

1. What are you most passionate doing outside of your research?
 

Photo: Lien Trin, Puppet Colony, Jaipur

Megan: (other than my family) riding my bicycle. For example, on Friday morning I went out for a stellar ride - meaning I was out at 5am with the star draped heavens above me. There was no moon and the air was dry so you could see every star in the sky. Riding in the pitch black can be hazardous, such as not seeing the road, but the benefits of being bathed in starlight make it worth the challenge - kind of like doing a PhD isn't it?

Lien: Photography, video shooting/ editing, traveling (backpacking) 

Lara: I am passionate about many things but my current 'obsession' would be the ukelele orchestra that I play with - the Uni Ukes 

Keely: Hmmm, my initial thought was that some days it feels like I don't do anything except couch potato, but then I actually looked at what I have been doing lately - worked on the NZ Ethics Committee; Twittered/Facebooked/blogged; did a bit of sewing/crafts; read a few books ranging from total trashy romance novels to thrillers; beach walks or hikes with the family (weather-permitting); and yes, I did do some couch surfing with Netflix. My ' passion' for any one activity varies depend on the day I've had. 


 2. Do you get time/make time for this? If so how often do you do it? 

Megan: Everyday if I can. 

Lien: Photography: once every 2-3 months Video editing: once a week Traveling abroad: once a year or once every 2 years 

Lara: I have the opportunity to jam with them once a week but this varies depending on writing stage

Keely: I tend to do these things in the evenings when I get home and I just can't thesis anymore, or in the weekends when I'm trying not to thesis. When life gets busy it's too easy to put a low priority on 'me-time' and fun pursuits, but I learnt my lesson with my MA about keeping some balance in there and not making it a habit to work 7 days a week except for rare occasional bursts. 

 3.How do you manage the Postgrad/Life balance? 

Photo: Lien Trinh, Puppet Colony, Jaipur

Megan: I struggle everyday. I find scheduling in time for my passions outside of research allows them to happen.

Lien: I try to work in the office, and once my son's gone to bed- I try my best to be involved in as many family activities as I can (I do struggle finding time for myself though- like doing things I love, not that I don't like doing things as a family) 

Lara: I don't manage - or at least I manage it very poorly - but then at times it seems that its going ok(ish) 

 Keely: Sometimes balance goes out the window if there is a deadline on and other commitments making demands, but for the most part I try not to work weekends or evenings after dinner. 

4. Words of wisdom to people struggling with the PG/Life balance 

Megan: Appreciate that it is a struggle and there's no silver bullet but sheer persistence - just like completing a PhD. 

Lien: Try to get a scholarship so you don't have to work part time. 

Lara: You are not alone! 

Keely: Treat your PhD like a job. If you don't prioritise time for you and your partner/ family then you will struggle to get through the MA year, let alone 3+ years of a PhD. 

Producing Snazzy Posters (in PowerPoint)

by Lara Sanderson

The best bit of conferencing advice I have ever received is “do as many presentations as you can at a conference, especially if you are paying to go overseas” (Dr. Greg Burnett, sometime in 2013). A good way, if you don’t want to prepare 3 or 4 different talks, is to create a poster, but don’t be fooled if you think it will be quicker – it can take just as long to create one! Nevertheless, the beauty of creating a poster is that it forces you to condense your ideas into the space of a poster. Ultimately it may help you get that single thesis statement.

Posters have often been consigned to the realm of quantitative and scientific research,  therefore, as a qualitative researcher, posters can be difficult and often text heavy. BUT taking some of the creative processes explored in my previous post about creating PowerPoints, in this post I am going to expand upon this to making posters in PowerPoint. 

Many of us use PowerPoint to create presentations, but it can also be used to make posters by using a single slide and playing with the dimensions. The good thing about this is that it doesn’t require training, just a little bit of play. Again, as before, this is just how I do it. This is what I have found works for me without any design skills or fancy stuff – take what you need and leave the rest. There are other options available, including using Inkscape and such. 

The overall aims of a poster is to have people

1. Come up and want to read it;
2. Spend time;
3. Engage with the material.

So with these aims in mind, you need to have impact and keep interest. Before starting it may be handy to rough out how you want your poster to look and what type of information you want to present. Then start with a blank slide – no title, nothing, nada.

Poster sizing (handy reference guide)

The two most commonly asked for conference sizes are A3 and AO, but for your reference here is a full list (in mm and cm). 

A3       297x420mm /29.7x 42 cm

A2       420x594mm / 42x59.4 cm

A1       594x841mm /59.4x 84.1 cm

AO      841x1189mm /84.1x 118cm

I'd suggest that the biggest you can afford to create within conference guidelines the better.

Resizing your PowerPoint

Once you have decided upon your poster size then you can resize your slide. Taking the dimensions in the above sizing guide, in layout set the custom size (ask in the comments if you need a hand with this).

Colour schemes (the time eater):

Often finding a colour scheme that works is hard, but the awesomeness that is DesignSeeds takes out a lot of this hard work. Search by theme and watch the magic happen! Pick a scheme that fits the mood you want to convey. This website may help you find that mood: http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours .

Translating the mood and the colour so that you can use it takes a few more steps.

When you find the palette that you love, run your mouse over and you should get some numbers and/or letters – this is the hex code and begins with a # .You can then type this number into Adobe Color.

Note: There are competing opinions on what shades you should use for a poster - some say dark and some say light - take into consideration where your poster may be placed. It could be in full bright light or in a dimly lit corner of the conference venue. Choose a theme for your poster and that should guide you in your choices - whatever conveys your message best!

Type in the hex value where it asks (bottom left under the grey) and this then gives you three RGB values (Red, Green and Blue). With these values you can now go back to PowerPoint and customise your colours. In the colour fill, go to more colours and type in the RGB numbers and voila! your custom colour. Repeat as many times as you want to develop your custom palette. I do however suggest using the power of 'no more than 3' for colours and fonts. (If you want my favourite font sites leave a comment and I will post them.)

Remember posters are a visual medium for your research so finding images that convey your message is important. I know finding appropriate images can be the hardest thing for a qualitative researcher. Quantitative researchers get pretty graphs - though do make sure they are readable not teeny tiny! You can find numerous posts and resources mentioned on this site (e.g. Morguefile) and elsewhere, so I am not going to repeat those tips, but take a look if you haven’t already!

Layout

Profile vs Landscape - this is down to preference and conference guidelines.

Title: At the top you should have your full title, name, academic position e.g. PhD/MA/Hons Candidate and your University etc. affiliation. Underneath, in smaller text, supply the reference for your poster (check your referencing guidelines for these and yes, APA does have them!). Your university crest, or other logos, might have specific placement guides. For example, at the University of Otago you have to have a certain amount of whitespace around the crest. If you have to have logos at the top try not to let it drown your title. Go for balance!

Body: I'd suggest no more than 300 words. You can lay this out a number of ways – text boxing and using select thesis chapter titles is the most common (refer to our resource page).

Before you finish, take a look at this useful webinar for posters from the University of Plymouth.

Now that you have got your masterpiece all done – where to print? 

In New Zealand, the Warehouse Stationery chain can print posters in full colour relatively cheaply for around about NZ$30 for an AO. Although prices vary, it is still the cheapest place I've found for printing your posters (in Dunedin). At Otago University Print stores you can also print to silk. This makes your poster easy to transport, but seriously expensive. I've transported my (paper, not silk) poster to Australia via a hard cased art tube from our local art supply store. The tube plus the cost of printing was cheaper than printing the poster on to silk!

Bits and bobs: The finishing touches

So you now you have your poster looking pretty snazzy how to draw a crowd?

1. Offer incentives. Sweets are great - this may sound 'naff', but in a whole day of conferencing, sweets will bring the browsers during the off peak times.
2. Have mini versions of your poster to hand out both before, during, and after your poster session – A4 copies are great, or you can go smaller provided you can read the text clearly
3. Dress in the colour palette you have chosen. That way people unconsciously link you with your poster or, as one website suggests, you could wear your poster on a tshirt! That might be inappropriate for your conference, but if not, then go for it!

Most of all have fun! Enjoy the creative process! If you have other hints or tips please feel free to comment below. If you would like to see posts on specific parts of this, or previous posts, please feel free to comment as well and I will follow this post up.

(Please note the posters shown here are NOT academic ones - merely illustrative of the points)

The cost of doing research

by UOCE graduate research students
 

Doing research costs. Doing a research degree can cost a lot. First of all there's the uni fees - if you're self-funding with a loan they can feel very steep and add up very quickly. But there are also other costs involved in collecting data, writing, and sharing your research. Recently 'The Blog With No Name' took a light-hearted look at the true cost of doing research  such as coffee, chocolate, wine, and gym memberships. 




While many grad research students may agree with these costs (certainly the coffee! - Ed), we decided to ask some Grad Research Students about their real research costs: 

 

What degree are you doing, and do you know how much it's costing?

A: I'm doing a PhD. So far I haven't added up the full costs of the whole thing - I think I'd be scared to know!

B: Master of Arts (Education) - Fees, printing costs, buying of resources for study, school administration time for sourcing research participants, curriculum time for children is sacrificed so they can take part in my study, travel - to schools, time out of the classroom (as I am normally a teacher) 

C: Phd, no idea how much it is costing so far as I have only just started collecting data and incurring costs. 

D: I am doing a Phd full time degree. I have an Otago scholarship so all standard course fees are covered. But my fieldwork costs have been substantial; approx. $6000 to date (and that is only a year into my PhD).  

E: PhD, I don't dare look - but lots!   

 

 

Did you know how much it would cost before you started? 

A: I did the usual estimate in my PhD application, but I think I seriously underestimated how much the process would cost, partly because it can be hard to foresee what you're going to encounter along the way. I had quite a few changes in my methodology which meant increased costs of recruitment, and I discovered some new software I wanted to try so... It also can depend on how you're counting cost. Do you count lost wages while you study? Or impacts upon mental health and sleep patterns?

B: I had a fair idea of the financial cost that I would incur taking on something like this but I had no idea of the magnitude of effort that would be required to really give a research project like this your 'all'. As I completed much of the project part time while still working, I found it can be almost impossible to produce work that you're proud of when you have been working all day/all week and trying to read, write or critique in a state of tiredness. However, having time to focus full time on study has provided by far, a better 'space' to work in.  


C: No idea, and no indication seems to be available.

D: I knew that the overseas fieldwork would be costly, but I naively thought that there would be other scholarships or funding options available to cover such things as flights, accommodation, etc. I was told before enrolling that there are a number of grants available, but I have since discovered that the criteria are so narrow in many cases that it is simply impossible to find one that suits your needs and field of research.

E: Having completed a Masters away from home base before I took on my PhD research, I knew there would be lots of money spent over the time so went in with 'eyes open'. 

  
Do you take a qualitative or quantitative approach, and what sort of expenses has that incurred? 

A: My research is qualitative but I don't think I've had anything unusual in costs considering I had multiple meetings with participants. Not counting uni fees (I was lucky enough to get those paid) or living costs, my biggest costs will have been for recruitment and data collection, such as vouchers for participants and the host schools. Travelling out of town can cost more than expected, especially if you have to make multiple and repeated trips. Even just providing food and drink during interviews starts to add up, especially if you're interviewing in a cafe, or have focus group meetings as well. I worked out that averaging out all the costs involved in just gathering the individual interview data, my interviews from out of town cost me on average around $200 each. In comparison, closer to my home base the interviews cost around $60 each. After that, some costs are more from my personal choices e.g. the cost of software for transcribing and analysing data such as Dragon, HyperTranscribe, HyperResearch, and software like Endnote, and Evernote for cloud storage. I also needed hardware such as digital voice recorders, backup harddrives, usb sticks, a wireless keyboard because the design was lower and better for my wrist, etc. Then I needed to update to a laptop that could handle the software I was using so I could work at home sometimes. I've bought some 'textbooks' on my topic, and there are conference fees and travel over and above the uni-funded conference... And I guess there are lots of little things that you don't notice as you go - Should I count the coffee to fuel it all? ;)

B: Quantitative - paper (repeated measures study) means I have had children (120) complete surveys and other activities that have required several reams of paper. There was the cost to purchase SPSS software and also time to train in the statistical methodologies of being able to competently work in this way. Possibly even having to enrol in further courses just so you can understand statistical methodologies.


C: Qualitative - so far most of my costs have fallen within my research allowance/ conference bursary award, but I have spent money on the following:
-travel to Auckland conferences - funded through conference bursary or supervisor’s pbrf
-conference fees - funded through conference bursary or through supervisor’s pbrf
-accommodation - funded through conference bursary 
-food whilst away from home approx $60 
-food for participants in my research (self-funded as I lost receipts or purchased food items amongst domestic shopping, possibly $100 thus far) 
-hardware - digital recorder, materials for research activity (all claimed for) approx. $200

D: I am using a qualitative approach using visual methods and interviews. The creative materials have incurred an extra cost as I have had to purchase art supplies for 50 participants. The interviews have also incurred an extra cost as they have not been conducted in English and so I have had to pay for interpreter services. There are also hidden costs of doing fieldwork such as purchasing food and drinks for my interpreter and driver, plus gifts of appreciation for my hosts.

E: Flexibility = Money! (But is totally worth it). My research is qualitative and as such my approach called for face to face interviews over the period of a year. I had to be flexible in my times, and being such involves the haemorrhaging of money. Through trial and error, I did a drive/fly combo for both North and South island collections - the more you have to geographically move around (rather than flying to one place three times) the more you spend in money and time at the very least I spent 10,000 dollars traveling to the North Island – 3/4 times for flights, car hire (and petrol)  and accommodation not including participant expenses like cafe lunches and thank you vouchers. The south island legs were possibly cheaper as I only had to pay petrol and accommodation however driving nine sometimes 15 hours a day was expensive in time and personal health.
 

 

Do you have any words of wisdom for someone starting out? 

A: It will cost more than you think, especially if you have changes. (Maybe research students need a course on creating research budgets through GRS? *waves at GRS*)

B: Choose your topic wisely - if you have a passion for research in one area - this is great, but is it going to be a practical project for research, especially in an MA programme? Be strict on yourself and set yourself aspirational, but achievable targets and put this in writing so you are aware of your expectations of yourself and so that you can cross off your achievements along the way. Use your supervisors - they are there to help and if you are plodding along and achieving not much, they might have some advice to get you out of a rut.

C: The research proposal currently focuses on research overview/methodology/ethics, students are not required to consider costs as part of that. Including predicted costs at this stage would be practical, and could be a factor to consider in the research design.

D: I would suggest checking with your department which costs are refundable and what exactly you are entitled to. For instance, my two international flights costing just over $3000 in total have not been reimbursable, because the tickets were not purchased through the university travel agent. I think this is something that should be looked at as circumstances may lead you to independently book your travel tickets (and the cheapest  you can find), but if any funding does become available later on you are left out of pocket because the university policy was not followed (i.e. booking through the university travel broker). This is what happened in my case when I moved departments after booking my airline tickets. Funds were available but I couldn't use them to claim my flight costs.

E: Be prepared to spend! (You are investing in you). If you have to travel to do face to face interviews - keep it near you (say 3 to 4 hour radius), try to keep it to one location- the less 'little' trips you can make the better. Skype, or other types of video conferencing/interviewing, may be a great way to keep costs down, but aren’t so great in building that rapport for sensitive topics. Most of all, remember this is for you – it’s your work, your monograph - so the time, money, energy, and such you spend is an investment in you!