SRHE is delighted to host the Non-Traditional Research Methods (NTRM) Network for a roundtable session around experiences of ‘being’ a researcher.

About the NTRM

The Non-Traditional Research Methods Network (NTRM) was launched in 2021. The Network was borne out of three colleagues talking and observing that, despite the sheer range of research methods available, in practice decisions in this area are often bound by the conventions of different disciplines. Not all research methods suit all contexts, but we decided that we would really welcome the opportunity to be exposed more to innovative research methods and research methods that are not traditional in the areas in which we work. The purpose of NTRM is, therefore, to provide a space for meaningful cross disciplinary research debate and thereby encourage more creativity in this aspect of research design.

During this session, the NTRM network co-founders will reflect upon and share the critical turning points that led to the Network’s formation. They will discuss the issues and themes that have emerged from a new form of organising, inspired by bricolage and punk. They will facilitate discussion around the different academic and research foci of the three founders as well as their world views and how they have enabled this diversity to enrich their development and conversations on research and everything else. The importance of fun will be one key theme.

This interactive session will invite participants to reflect upon their use of research methods, their experiences of being a researcher, and to explore ideas around:

1. 1. embodied research methods
   2. visual research methods
   3. experiential and immersive research
   4. affective dimensions of research

Who is the session for?

This symposium is designed for those who wish to explore their preconceptions about approaches to research in an open and non-judgmental forum. The Network actively works to create an inclusive and non-judgemental space that welcomes contributions from higher education researchers and practitioners from any stage of their career, and from any field of practice.  

Facilitators

Dr Angela Rushton

Dr Angela Rushton is Associate Dean, Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Northampton. Angela’s interest in multidisciplinary research goes back to her PhD from Cranfield University, UK, in 1980. Her research drew on social psychology, organisational theory, economics and systems thinking to explore marketing channels. Since returning to academia from industry, Angela’s main areas of research interest remain in marketing and business with work on user-generated content, the digital self, ethical ambiguity and business failure. She is curious about different research methods and has used grounded theory and more recently autoethnography.

Dr Jacquie Ridge

Dr Jacquie Ridge is a Registered Nurse, and a Senior Lecturer within the Field of Nursing at the University of Northampton, UK where she also received a Doctor of Philosophy investigating Professional Identity in Adult Nursing in 2020. Her research interests being professional identity, its legitimacy and authenticity, derived from doctoral research investigated using Visual Grounded Theory. Her methodological interests are qualitative, specifically Grounded Theory and Visual Research. She is in the process of disseminating her findings through publication, alongside application to nursing curriculum.

Dr Harriet Richmond

Dr Harriet Richmond is the Organisation Development Consultant at the University of Warwick, with responsibility for staff researcher development. Harriet received a PhD in Drama from the University of Birmingham, UK in 2019. Her thesis examines the relationship between theatre design education, design and scenography practice and emergent professional identities of theatre designers by reconstructing the curriculum and pedagogy of the Motley Theatre Design Course, using novel research methods. Harriet’s research interests are pedagogy and the formation and development of professional identities, and creative research methods, including photo and object elicitation, collage and sound.