London Center for Social Studies

7th LCSS PhD Methodology Conference
2019-09-20 09:00 - 12:30 UTC | The University of Greenwich, Address: Old Royal Naval College, Park Row, London SE10 9LS, London, SE10 9LS, United Kingdom
The 7th LCSS
PhD Methodology Conference

Social Science Research:
Methodological, Empirical & Ethical Issues in the Age of Big Data

Date: 20 September 2019
Venue: University of Greenwich, Old Royal Naval College, London SE10 9LS, U.K.
Organisers: University of Greenwich, LCSS & London South Bank University

The 7th LCSS PhD Methodology Conference was held on 20 September 2019 at the University of Greenwich.
The conference aimed to bring together doctoral students, professionals and early-career researchers from various disciplines within the Social Sciences and Humanities allowing them to share their research experiences. The conference addressed methodological, empirical and ethical issues relevant to the Social Sciences and Humanities. There was a particular focus on the impact of Big Data on methodological choices.
The conference programme provided a valuable opportunity for researchers to debate and reflect on their methodological choices to consider alternative approaches, methods, tools and resources. It also provided a venue for discussing potential challenges facing researchers.
This was a one-day conference including one keynote panel session in the morning and two sessions in the afternoon all together.
Among the topics featured were:
● The impact of Big Data on methodological choices, formulation of research questions
and research design.
● Ethics and ethical issues faced while conducting research.
● Key challenges in identifying the type of research methodology.
● Research philosophy and adopting different ontological and epistemological
positions.
● The selection of appropriate methods, techniques and tools for data collection.
● The use of technology and innovative approaches.

Besides the sessions, the conference hosted three invaluable keynote speakers as well. Prof Kenneth D’Silva, the director of Centre for Research in Accounting, Finance and Governance, at London South Bank University presented “Theory and Data – Big or Small – within Research Methodology: Key Thoughts and Issues”.
Dr Richard Race , senior lecturer at School of Education, University of Roehampton discussed “Methods, Methodology and Ethics in Education and Social Science Research”, while

Dr Simon Whitworth from UK Statistics Authority talked on “The National Statistician’s Data Ethics Advisory Committee: Providing Assurance That the Use of Data for Research and Statistical Purposes Is Ethical and for the Public Good”
