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Networking Research

Networking Research. A Social and Professional Network for Early Career Researchers in Education Professor Patrick Carmichael (LJMU) Dr. Chris Taylor (Cardiff) Helen Burchmore (CARET, Cambridge). Background to the Project.

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Networking Research

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  1. Networking Research A Social and Professional Network for Early Career Researchers in Education Professor Patrick Carmichael (LJMU) Dr. Chris Taylor (Cardiff) Helen Burchmore (CARET, Cambridge)

  2. Background to the Project • TLRP and AERS developed VREs oriented towards intensive collaboration within projects though there was some ‘creative appropriation’ of these • New ‘social software’ models provide an alternative model of online interaction focused on networks and contact management • Are there features of ‘social software’ which would support the networking activities of educational researchers, including access to high quality content? • OpenSocial is an emerging standard for social software - allowing exchange of tools and services

  3. Key Objectives of the Project • To establish a network of early career researchers in education through a series of workshops and the provision of novel online social networking tools • To carry out a series of participatory design activities in order to produce specifications for online tools … • To develop a set of online tools to support individuals and groups of early career educational researchers … • To implement these tools as part of … the existing TLRP Virtual Research Environment • To maximise the value of existing and emerging educational research resources …

  4. Design Workshops • TEL PhD Students • TEL Early Career Researchers • Education Research Students (PRIE Network) • Initial focus on existing support and current experience • Agenda setting … if only we could … if only we had … • Participatory design activities • Focus groups • Paper prototyping • User testing

  5. Designs as Reifications of Practice

  6. Software Development Single Interface to Research Resources A search and filtering interface to ‘federated’ research methods resources from the BERA, TLRP, AERS and the NCRM digital archives. Really Simple Recommendation ‘One Click’ recommender system allowing any news story, event or other RSS content to be ‘forwarded’ to other members of an individual’s network.

  7. Over to you for a while … • These research students identified a range of Web 2.0 type tools – many bringing together information from multiple sources • What Web 2.0 type gadgets or services would support your own work? • Do these exist already? Or do the components exist already, and it is just a question of aggregation and design? • Are there barriers to this happening? • Pitch your idea to your neighbour for a few minutes • Be prepared to share your brilliant ideas!

  8. An Enhanced Online Environment

  9. Key Findings • Need to engage with the specific ‘social practices’ of researchers so as to support these using technologies. • Researching networks is best understood as a participatory process (researcher-as-networker) rather than as studying the ‘online’. • Features of ‘social software’ combined with existing collaboration environments can support both ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ ties valuable to early career researchers • OpenSocial represents a useful framework, ‘lowering the bar’ for rapid prototyping, participatory design and realisation of useful research tools and services

  10. Opportunities and Challenges • “Researching research” • To develop technologies • To support capacity building and career progression • To encourage interdisciplinary working • Towards a ‘linked web of data’ for educational research - supporting providers in contributing to this • Supporting early career researchers develop their ‘presence’ in and across organisations and networks • Capturing expertise and supporting mentoring • Network support for the Research Training Framework

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