The 6th LCSS PhD Methodology Conference

Discussion of Evidence in Social Science and Humanities Methodology was successfully held on 12 June 2018 at Brunel University London, Brunel Business School.

The conference aimed to bring PhD students and early-career researchers from diverse social science and humanities disciplines to meet and share their research experiences. The conference addressed the methodological issues in social sciences and humanities, and particularly focused on the impact of big data era on methodological choices, formulation of the research question and research design.

The conference gave PhD students and early-career researchers an opportunity to debate and reflect on their methodological choices, and to consider alternative approaches, methods, tools and sources. It also provided a forum in which research challenges could be explored.

Among the topics conference featured were;

• From anecdotes/observations/archives/questionnaires/surveys etc. to big data in the whole spectrum of social science and humanities.
• The impact of big data era on methodological choices, formulation of the research question and research design.
• The key challenges in identifying the type of research methodology.
• Research philosophy and adopting different ontological and epistemological positions.
• The advantages and disadvantages of using mixed-methods and methodologies.
• Choosing appropriate methods, techniques and tools for the data collection.
• The use of technology and innovative approaches.
• Undertaking fieldwork in online spaces.
• Ethical issues involved in conducting research.
• The ways of facilitating implementation of research outcomes in the wider literature and among policy makers.

The conference consisted of two parallel panel sessions in the morning and two parallel sessions in the afternoon. PhD students presented their research topics by focusing on their methodologies.

Besides the parallel sessions, the conference hosted four invaluable keynote speakers as well.

Dr Marios Samdanis, Lecturer in Strategy, Entrepreneurship and International Management at Brunel University London, presented on “Using big data for social science and humanities”.

Dr Alasdair Jones  Assistant Professor in Qualitative Research Methodology at London School of Economics, delivered a keynote speech on “I want to mix, but how?  Conceptualising and designing mixed-methods studies”.

Prof Mustafa Ozbilgin, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Brunel Business School presented a workshop titled ‘“How to write your methodology chapter?” and focused on the challenges of methods that PhD students generally encounter with.

Lastly, Dr Fahri Karakas, Senior Lecturer in Business and Leadership at Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, presented his very inspiring workshop on building up professional development during a PhD journey.