ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference

Tuesday July 19, 2016

Workshop presenters: Robert Ackland and Timothy Graham

Location: Holme Room

VOSON SocialMediaLab is an R package that provides a suite of tools for collecting and constructing networks from social media data. It provides easy-to-use functions for collecting data across popular platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) and generating different types of networks for analysis.  SocialMediaLab also collects the associated text data from social media platforms (e.g. Tweets, Facebook fan page posts and comments, YouTube video comments).

In this workshop, participants will learn how to collect various types of social media data using SocialMediaLab and generate different types of ‘ready-made’ networks for analysis. Participants will also learn basic network and text analysis using R packages such as igraph and tm.

Assumed knowledge: A basic familiarity of R (or other programming languages) and basic concepts from network and text analysis.

Workshop presenter: Steven McEachern

Location: Cullen Room

This workshop will provide an introduction to standards and practices for managing, storing and disseminating research and administrative data in the social sciences in Australia.

Topics to be covered will include:

• What is data management and archiving?
• Data sharing policies in Australia: ARC, NHMRC and government data
• Standards for data archiving: OAIS, DDI and beyond
• Managing active projects
• Archiving completed projects: depositing, preserving and archiving data
• Disseminating data
• Question and Answer session

The workshop will provide an overview of current data management practice in Australia and internationally, and discussion of recent Australian developments in data sharing and open data. The workshop will be of interest to those researchers with responsibilities for management of quantitative and qualitative research projects, staff from government agencies interested in disseminating data, and others interested in data access methods for sensitive data.

Workshop presenter: Barry Milne

Location: Sutherland Room

Microsimulation is a methodological approach that is becoming increasingly relevant particularly but not only in the policy arena. It can draw together information from micro-level data, giving scope to human agency while taking into account social context. How does microsimulation fit with the social sciences, and what are its advantages? The workshop will attempt to answer these questions and introduce the general features of the microsimulation approach. As an example of a social science application, we will show the construction of our model of determinants and outcomes in the early life course and how the associated tool can be used for testing policy scenarios.

All welcome. No pre-requisites or technical expertise are required.

Workshop presenter: Adam Zammit

Location: Withdrawing Room

This workshop focuses on the use of Limesurvey, the free/open source web based survey tool. This is the tool that powers the CANVASS web survey service. Limesurvey allows for the creation of web based questionnaires along with sample/list management. We will run through the creation of a questionnaire including using images, skip logic (question relevance) and multiple question types.

No prior knowledge of web survey tools is assumed - bring along a laptop if you want a more hands-on experience.

Workshop presenter: Nicola McNeil

Location: MacCallum Room

This workshop examines some of the ways in which qualitative data can be transformed into quantitative data and analysed statistically.  We will begin by considering the various research designs that require the integration of qualitative and quantitative data.  We will then explore the various ways to qualitative data into numbers that can be used for further (statistical) analyses (with a specific focus on NVIVO). We also examine issues of data quality and inter-rater reliability.

Wednesday July 20, 2016

The past, present and future of ACSPRI and the social sciences.

David Gow - University of Queensland

Location: Footbridge Theatre

Facilitator: Len Coote - University of Queensland

Anniversary dinner

Ann Evans - The Australian National University & Chair, ACSPRI

Darren Pennay - The Social Research Centre

Location: The Refectory

Thursday July 21, 2016

Thinking Big about Qualitative Research: Trends, Visions and Challenges for the Future.

Lynda Cheshire - University of Queensland

Location: Footbridge Theatre

Facilitator: Ann Evans - The Australian National University

Facilitators:

Dr Katherine Carroll, Mayo Clinic
Dr Aileen Collier, Flinders University
Dr Ann Dadich, Western Sydney University
Dr Su-yin Hor, University of Tasmania
Prof. Rick Iedema, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation
Dr Jessica Mesman, Maastricht University
Ms Mary Wyer, University of Tasmania

Room: Chancellors Room

Video reflexive ethnography invites research participants to make sense of visual data they have a personal connection with. Reflexivity is distinct from reflection. While reflection merely asks, ‘What do I do?’, reflexivity positions the subject contextually in relation to the self, to others, and to the broader influences that shape behaviour. Drawing on different disciplinary perspectives, this workshop will explore the potential value of video reflexive ethnography for researchers who collect and interpret qualitative material. Using bona fide scholarly examples, the workshop will demonstrate the pragmatic use of this transformative methodology in a variety of contexts. The workshop will proceed in four parts over two sessions.

This session:

1. Participants will be invited to engage in a video reflexive event, where they are expected to reflect on the socio-interactive conduct produced as a group in response to a specific task

2. The workshop facilitators will describe the basic process of video reflexive ethnography, outline its pedagogic and theoretical bases, and present scholarly examples

Facilitators:

Dr Katherine Carroll, Mayo Clinic
Dr Aileen Collier, Flinders University
Dr Ann Dadich, Western Sydney University
Dr Su-yin Hor, University of Tasmania
Prof. Rick Iedema, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation
Dr Jessica Mesman, Maastricht University
Ms Mary Wyer, University of Tasmania

Room: Chancellors Room

Video reflexive ethnography invites research participants to make sense of visual data they have a personal connection with. Reflexivity is distinct from reflection. While reflection merely asks, ‘What do I do?’, reflexivity positions the subject contextually in relation to the self, to others, and to the broader influences that shape behaviour. Drawing on different disciplinary perspectives, this workshop will explore the potential value of video reflexive ethnography for researchers who collect and interpret qualitative material. Using bona fide scholarly examples, the workshop will demonstrate the pragmatic use of this transformative methodology in a variety of contexts. The workshop will proceed in four parts over two sessions.

This session:

3. A Q&A session will afford participants the opportunity to clarify and critique their understandings of video reflexive ethnography, its theoretical bases, and its use

4. Participants will be invited to consider how they might harness the potential value of this transformative methodology to further their own research – when appropriate, this may involve small group discussion

Friday July 22, 2016

Facilitator: Jenniffer Gippel

Room: MacCallum Room

Where do great ideas come from? Creative research and innovation calls for breakthrough thinking—a blend of insight, imagination, analysis and action. This 3 hour interactive workshop provides a crash course in creativity and considers the following in relation to academic environments: what is creativity and creative research; the characteristics of creative people; the difference between creative and critical thinking and why we need both. Most of the workshop is about learning and practicing evidence based strategies that spark the imagination to help researchers move away from habitual thinking and doing, which often confines them to incremental research. Activities focus on techniques to unpack your assumptions, rethink your questions and bring an element of surprise into your research.

Facilitator: Jenniffer Gippel

Room: MacCallum Room

Where do great ideas come from? Creative research and innovation calls for breakthrough thinking—a blend of insight, imagination, analysis and action. This 3 hour interactive workshop provides a crash course in creativity and considers the following in relation to academic environments: what is creativity and creative research; the characteristics of creative people; the difference between creative and critical thinking and why we need both. Most of the workshop is about learning and practicing evidence based strategies that spark the imagination to help researchers move away from habitual thinking and doing, which often confines them to incremental research. Activities focus on techniques to unpack your assumptions, rethink your questions and bring an element of surprise into your research.

How is Big Data Changing the Nature and Practice of Social Science?

Rob Ackland - The Australian National University

Location: Footbridge Theatre

Facilitator: Steven McEachern - The Australian National University