Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba
The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), in partnership with the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH), are pleased to announce the 2026 Spring into Methods Programme.
PhD Researchers are invited to register for up to two Spring into Methods workshops.
Eligible travel expenses can be claimed by a students attending Spring into Methods workshops via their associated Graduate School. Please review the SGSSS and SGSAH expenses policies to confirm if you are eligible.
Find out more information on each workshop below by clicking the workshop title below!
The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), in partnership with the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH), warmly invite proposals for Spring into Methods 2025/26.
The Spring into Methods programme brings together arts, humanities, social science, and other doctoral researchers from across Scotland to offer sessions providing an in-depth approach to learning a specific research method for up to 15 hours.
Each year, SGSAH and SGSSS invite proposals from members of staff in any of the affiliated HEIs to provide this training which will be offered with our support. Whilst we hope and expect in-person training to be possible, we welcome proposals that are delivered online.
These events should focus on research method(s) and be inclusive and relevant to students from across the arts, humanities and social sciences. Our emphasis is on interactive, interdisciplinary and innovative sessions that demonstrate both expertise in methods training, and leadership to involve early career researchers in delivery.
For this call, we also welcome applications addressing grand societal challenges (see below) which might articulate with the UN Sustainability Goals, and/or Scotland’s National Performance Framework. These should take an exciting problem–solving approach and appeal to students across disciplinary divides.
There are no specific requirements for the style of training, but we welcome proposals that develop students’ collaborative and team building skills, problem solving abilities, creative and solution-orientated thinking. We are keen to fund these events, and in some cases with an elevated budget in recognition of the additional resources that may be required for successful delivery.
These events should speak to societal challenges in one of these areas:-
Based on training needs analyses, we would welcome applications that can showcase:
Please note, we can accept applications for previous events where evidence is provided of the event’s success and planned updates based on feedback. Additionally, we welcome applications for novel areas.
The deadline for workshop proposals was Friday 30 January 2026 at 3pm.
A short informal webinar took place on 3 December 2025. Please find a recording of this webinar here:
Would you like to learn more about bringing a variety of methods together from different disciplines and how to implement these to a research project?
Would you like to understand more about interdisciplinary research teams can find a middle ground and approach research that draws on a broad range of skills?
This workshop will provide in depth interdisciplinary training inspired by a seed-funded research project called ‘A Mother’s Place’. The research team span 4 difference fields of research practice across two academic schools within University of the West of Scotland: ‘Health and Life Sciences’ and ‘Business and Creative Industries’.
In this workshop you will learn how to:
To register for this workshop please click here.
22 April 2026 – 9.30am-1pm
29 April 2026 – 9.30am-1pm
8 May 2026 – 9.30am-1pm
11 May 2026 – 9.30am-1pm
This ‘advanced’ online-taught qualitative interviewing workshop will provide Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences doctoral students with an opportunity to focus in more depth on some of the key theoretical issues in their interviewing practice. To consider ethical approaches in depth and how oral history methodology and theory can enhance your practice. The series will also cover how to undertake successful interviews remotely (phone and online). The format will allow participants to develop their interviewing practice through discussion of specific problem issues and scenarios.
The 2026 workshops are designed for those PG students using oral interviewing techniques who have already accrued some practice in interviewing. They should also have ideally undertaken prior interviewing practical OR oral history training. Latter is not compulsory though.
Intended learning outcomes include providing students with deeper knowledge of remote interviewing methodologies in an era of social distancing and of oral history theory and a more critical awareness of the theoretical challenges that oral historians navigate in their research. Also, an appreciation of the legal and ethical obligations surrounding oral historical research and issues around managing trauma in interviewing.
We also discuss oral narrative methods and different approaches for analysing and disseminating interviews and related data. There will be opportunities to discuss students own research plans and interviewing projects, problems and issues arising with seasoned oral history experts, early career researchers and each other.
To register for this workshop please click here.
Does your research involve working with more than one language? You may be planning interviews with participants in a language that you are fluent in. Or perhaps you collected data in another language and now wonder how to best analyse them.
What about representing qualitative data: do you need to provide the original as well as the translation? How do you even go about translating data or research materials? A lot of research projects require working across multiple languages, which brings its own unique challenges and raises a lot of questions.
In this half-day workshop, we invite you to think about what it means to research multilingually, particularly if your primary research does not concern the question of language itself. We will discuss a set of guiding principles and consider how these may apply to specific research projects.
Whatever stage of research you’re at, you will have an opportunity to reflect on the methodological questions that multiple languages bring to your research process – from research design, through data collection to presentation of findings. By meeting other researchers from various disciplines who have grappled with similar issues, you will have a chance to learn about the often hidden aspects of research projects to enable you to consider the questions of languages which often are taken for granted
To register for this workshop please click here.
Extreme heat is expected to become more frequent and intense amid global climate change, even in places typically enjoying temperate climate like Scotland. Certain populations, such as older adults and people with chronic health conditions, are particularly susceptible to the adverse health and well-being effects of extreme temperatures. How do extreme temperatures affect coping, health, and wellbeing in everyday life? And, beyond interviews and in-lab experiments, how can researchers capture these day-to-day experiences as they unfold? Join us for this interactive, interdisciplinary, one‑day workshop, where you will learn two distinct yet complementary research approaches: ecological momentary assessment (EMA; or experience sampling method) and photovoice.
This training is ideal for doctoral researchers across humanities, social sciences, and beyond, such as those working in psychology, education, environmental studies, urban design, and more. No prior experience with EMA, Photovoice, or mixed‑methods research is required, although basic mastery of SPSS or R will be beneficial for the hands-on lab practices.
Framed around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing; SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 13: Climate Action) and Scotland’s National Performance Framework, particularly the Health, Communities, and Environment outcomes, the workshop focuses on how to design rigorous and inclusive mixed-methods intensive
longitudinal studies of lived climate impacts.
In this workshop, you will:
The workshop will be held at the University of Strathclyde. Participants may use on‑site PCs or their own laptops (for the latter, the latest version of SPSS or R will need to be installed).
This event will be delivered by Dr Dwight Tse, Dr Tess Davis, and Spence Whittaker, who have extensive experience in conducting EMA and photovoice studies and hosting methodological training for postgraduate researchers.
Join us to gain practical mixed‑methods skills, deepen your understanding of climate‑related health and wellbeing impact, and build a toolkit that you can apply immediately across diverse research contexts.
To register for this workshop please click here.
Friday 01 May, 2026 | 10:00 – 16:00 | In-person | UWS Lanarkshire Campus, Glasgow
Stories are everywhere in research — in interviews, fieldnotes, case studies, autoethnographies, and lived experience. But how do we work with stories analytically, and how might we represent them in ways that do justice to their complexity, emotion, and meaning?
Creating with Stories is a one-day, in-person workshop that introduces participants to narrative inquiry and creative analytical practice as flexible, powerful approaches for qualitative research. The workshop offers a supportive and hands-on introduction to working with stories as both data and theory.
Across the day, participants will explore the continuum of narrative inquiry, considering different philosophical framings (including critical realist and social constructionist perspectives), before learning practical approaches to thematic and structural narrative analysis.
You’ll have the opportunity to analyse either your own anonymised data or sample datasets provided by the facilitators. The afternoon session shifts from analysis to creation. Participants will experiment with creative analytical practices – such as poetry, creative nonfiction, collage, zines, or other multimodal forms – as ways of representing narrative analysis and sharing research in engaging, meaningful ways. No artistic experience is required; curiosity and openness are more than enough.
This workshop is deliberately introductory, collaborative, and inclusive. There are no formal prerequisites, and participants from any discipline are welcome. Whether you are working in the arts, humanities, social sciences, health, education, sport, or beyond, narrative skills are central to research that engages with human experience.
Held at the University of the West of Scotland’s modern and accessible Lanarkshire Campus, the workshop provides a welcoming environment with all materials supplied. Participants are encouraged (but not required) to bring a laptop and their own anonymised data.
If you are curious about narrative inquiry, interested in creative approaches to qualitative research, or looking for new ways to analyse and share your work, Creating with Stories offers a practical, thoughtful, and imaginative space to begin.
To register for this workshop please click here.
Tuesday 05 May, 2026 | 10:00 – 14:00 | In-person | Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow
In this session you will be introduced to collage as a rigorous, creative, and reflexive visual research method that can be mobilised across all stages of the doctoral research process. Together, we will demystify collage as a scholarly tool and explore its potential as a legitimate method for research design, data generation, data analysis, and dissemination.
By engaging with collage practices, you will have the opportunity to develop new ways of thinking, seeing, and communicating research that extend beyond text-dominant approaches, and offer increased potential to foreground the voices of with potentially marginalised populations through arts-based research.
The session will be delivered as an interactive, face-to-face methodological workshop designed specifically for PhD researchers. In tandem with short guidance on relevant theory from the organisers, you will take part in hands-on creative activity, role-play, structured reflection, and facilitated group discussion. The face-to-face setting reflects collage is a tactile, relational, and embodied practice that benefits from shared space, material engagement, and peer interaction.
During the workshop, you will discuss the adaptation of materials for both in-person and online research contexts, and will explore example protocols, participant prompts, and digital collage platforms.
The emphasis throughout the session will be on learning-by-doing, collective sense-making, and methodological confidence-building. Because the session focuses on with both conceptual understanding and practical tools, you should leave armed with the confidence to immediately apply collage techniques in your PhD research.
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
To register for this workshop please click here.
Wednesday 06 May, 2026 | 09.00-18.00 | In-person | University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Open Research practices for the social and human disciplines: A one-day, in-person workshop for PhD students.
Concerns about transparency, reproducibility, and accountability have reshaped how research is evaluated across the social and human disciplines. Methodological “research crises” have shown that well-intentioned researchers are still subject to cognitive, institutional, and technical constraints that can affect every stage of the research cycle. Open Research practices have emerged as a set of concrete responses to these challenges.
This one-day, in-person workshop is designed for PhD students who want to critically engage with these developments and learn how to integrate Open Research practices into their own work. The workshop introduces core concepts of Open Research and focuses on their practical application in day-to-day research activities, regardless of methodological or theoretical orientation.
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
The workshop will interleave short, interactive presentations with hands-on practical sessions.
Presentations, delivered by Stefano Coretta, will introduce key ideas and include interactive polls and activities. Practical sessions will alternate between guided tutorials and independent exercises, allowing participants to apply concepts at their own pace while receiving support when needed.
The event runs for a single day and includes a lunch break and two comfort breaks. No prior experience with Open Research tools is required. The workshop is particularly suited to PhD students who want to strengthen the methodological robustness of their research and better understand current expectations around transparency in academia.
To register for this workshop please click here.
Do you think that your research can contribute to interrupting social inequalities? Would you consider action research to examine and support positive and sustainable changes in society?
This one-day event aims at developing your understanding of action research and social justice to investigate social inequalities, and your identity as an agent of change/advocate/activist.
Through the different sessions planned, we will raise awareness of the ways in which action research can interrupt social inequalities, generate research solutions to accelerate and enhance frames of action for social change informed in the arts, the humanities, and the social sciences, and bring together doctoral researchers from different disciplines to imagine research projects with academic, societal, and policy impact.
By the end of the event, you will be able to: (a} understand the transformative role of action research projects to interrupt social inequalities, (b) design creative and interdisciplinary solutions for action research-based projects, and (c) create research projects with an inclusive dissemination
strategy.
Introductory knowledge of action research is required. Prior to the event, you will receive materials (e.g., articles) to get you started. Coffee breaks, snacks, and lunch will be provided.
To register for this workshop please click here.
Join us for a dynamic two-day workshop that brings feminist research methods to life through interdisciplinary exchange, creative practice and collective learning. Returning to the University of Strathclyde – where the original Feminist Research Methods initiative was launched – this Spring into Methods event welcomes PhD students from across the arts, humanities and social sciences, and beyond.
Hosted in partnership with Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL), an internationally recognised feminist organisation, accredited museum and community archive, the workshop offers a unique opportunity to engage with feminist methods in a space where academic research meets public engagement, heritage and activism. Across two days, participants will explore interdisciplinary methods spanning qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and creative approaches, with sessions designed to be interactive, hands-on and supportive.
Highlights include an Early Career Researcher (ECR) panel on feminist collaboration across the career course, and an artist–academic panel focused on visualising research methods and building cross-sector collaborations between academia, the arts and community organisations. A special book launch event will celebrate an open access edited collection Queer in a Wee Place: Small Nations, Sexuality and Scotland, with attendees a prize-draw raffle for a printed copy.
The programme also centres care and embodiment. Day 2 begins with an optional, accessible chair-based yoga session, Embodying Research: Moving Together, led by qualified practitioner, offering a gentle, inclusive way to reflect on research, wellbeing and connection.
Previous participants consistently highlight the transformative impact of the workshop:
“I thought there would be several segments that wouldn’t be relevant to me. I was so surprised to find that every session was interesting, useful and inspiring”.
“Attending during the first year of my PhD was transformative and fundamentally shaped how I approached my research design”.
“Both days were rich, mind-opening and a great chance to meet people from very different research backgrounds, but with similar feminist research methods curiosity”.
“I loved how interactive most sessions were. Those that stood out were Zines, Manifestos, and Fiction as Method”.
With its mix of presentations, participatory activities and interdisciplinary dialogue, this workshop offers an inspiring space to rethink how we do research-together. For postgraduate researchers in particular, it provides a rare opportunity to step back from disciplinary silos, connect with others navigating similar research challenges, and explore feminist methods in a supportive, non-hierarchical environment. It is designed to nurture confidence, curiosity and collaboration at a formative stage of research careers.
To register for this workshop please click here.
Are you a PhD student planning a quantitative or mixed-methods study and unsure how to move from a good research idea to a clear, defensible study plan? Do concepts like power analysis, analysis planning, or pre-registration feel intimidating or underexplained? Are you interested in developing transferable research skills that apply across disciplines?
This Spring into Methods workshop is designed for you. Across the arts, humanities, and social sciences, doctoral researchers increasingly use surveys, experiments, secondary data, and quantitative analyses to address important questions about people, culture, policy, and society. Yet many researchers receive limited formal training in how to plan studies transparently – specifying hypotheses in advance, justifying sample sizes, or clearly documenting analytic decisions. These gaps can make research harder to interpret, harder to reproduce, and harder to defend to reviewers, funders, or supervisors.
This interactive, hands-on workshop provides practical training in transparent quantitative research Dr Taylor Hill Lecturer Feb 18 2026 design, focusing on the skills needed to plan credible and well-powered studies. Using R and open-science tools, participants will learn how to translate conceptual research questions into testable hypotheses, conduct power analyses, build structured data-analysis plans, and complete a draft pre-registration for their own research. No advanced coding experience is required – templates and step-by-step guidance are provided throughout. Whether you are planning your first quantitative study, refining a preregistration, or looking to strengthen the transparency and credibility of your research, this workshop will equip you with practical tools you can use throughout your PhD and beyond.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
The event runs over two days and combines short lectures, live demonstrations, guided exercises, and small-group discussion, led by Dr Taylor Hill. Participants will actively work on their own projects, supported by the teaching team and peer feedback.
Accessibility & format:
To register for this workshop please click here.
Before registering for any of the events above, please read our Event Engagement Statement.
© 2024 All rights reserved
Scottish Graduate School of Social Science, proudly funded by
