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Starting your research journey

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I have no research experience, but I want to get involved and learn more

Welcome to the start of your research journey! Research is central to the University of Northampton’s (UON) strategic direction, and you are an important part of this.

We have put together a range of resources and information to support you in developing your research skills and experience.

Here you’ll find some development outcomes to help you think about how you can get involved and learn more about research. We have also provided some example Performance Development Review (PDR) objectives, embedded in some broader discussion topics support conversations with your line manager.

You’ll also find some useful development activities and resources, and a ‘who’s who’ of useful contacts within the University to support you in broadening your support network. We are planning to build a bank of good practice examples for colleagues who want to get involved in research in the future, and the resources here will be continuously updated.

We hope you find this information useful. You can provide feedback via the following link at any time that suits you: researcher feedback form.

Scroll down for further information.

  • Here you will find some example development objectives that we think will support you at this stage.

    They have been developed by a working group of diverse, multi-disciplinary colleagues. The themes were raised by colleagues in a cross-University survey about researcher needs, and are mapped to external benchmarks and sector good practice (e.g. Vitae), plus relevant internal strategies and policies.

    The objectives identify some key actions for you to complete. Staff needs are likely to be different as the research career progresses, but progression is not always linear and different forms of objectives and support may be required at different times. You may want to adapt them to your own needs, in consultation with your line manager, mentor or research lead.

    Developing identity as a researcher

    Explore your motivations for getting involved in research including potential benefits for yourself/those around you. Write down some keywords that describe the kinds of research you might be interested in and discuss these with your Research Leader.

    Broadening your research knowledge (skills) and experience

    Schedule 30-60 minutes to do some initial literature searching. Use NELSON or GoogleScholar to search for one or two recent research publications in an area that interests you. Have a read. Note down anything that you find interesting, exciting, or useful. If you are unsure where to get started, contact your Academic Librarian for a helping hand.

    Equality, diversity and inclusion

    Think about actions you might take to make UON a more inclusive place, within your sphere of influence, and how research might help. Explore and learn about existing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) discussions/ groups across in the University. Make some initial enquiries about their activities and see where you can link in.

    Organisational expectations/vision

    Identify a researcher, Research Centre Lead, or Research Leader in your subject area at UON (your line manager or subject leader will be able to help). Contact them and schedule a chat. They will be happy to share their knowledge and experience, and signpost opportunities to find out more.

    Based on this discussion, develop a research-focused Performance and Development Review (PDR) objective to develop your understanding of research (e.g. attending Research Centre events, attending the annual UON Research or Learning and Teaching Conference, or seeking mentoring support to develop understanding of research opportunities at UON).

    Developing networks, partnerships/collaborations

    Schedule 30-60 minutes to search PURE – UON’s database of researchers. Identify three colleagues whose work interests you. Email them to ask for recommendations of interesting things to read and super-supportive colleagues working in similar areas.

  • Colleagues and line managers have asked for guidance on setting Performance and Development Review (PDR) objectives relating to research.

    Here are some example PDR objectives for colleagues at your stage. Examples can be selected and adapted to suit individual development priorities:

    1. Attend Research Centre events, the annual UON Research or L&T Conference

    • Focusing on research
    • Building relationships

    2. Seek to establish relationship with industry or other external partner and identify mutually beneficial outcomes

    • Achieving social impact
    • Building relationships
    • Delivering high quality performance

    3. Join an ongoing research project or enterprising activity and contribute to its completion

    • Focusing on research

    4. Attendance at specific UON research methods development session(s) followed by dissemination of learning to colleagues

    • Focusing on research
    • Delivering excellent student or customer experience

    We want to empower researchers to explore their strengths and areas for future development. There is a bespoke section within this resource for managers of researchers which you can also signpost your manager to, to help you underpin discussions about getting involved in research. Some topics for discussion might include:

    • How can you, alongside your manger, identify protected time to engage in research-related activity?
    • What other research is being done within your team, and how can you link in?
    • How can your research interest support your team to become more research active?
    • How can your research interests make a positive difference within your team (for example via research-informed teaching, research methods delivery or pedagogical developments)?

    If you or your manager would like support with these discussions, please contact your research lead, or the lead of a relevant research centre. The following section also provides some examples of good practice in this area.

  • In this section we have provided some examples of development activities [login required for Staff Intranet], top tips and good practice. UON colleagues have found these activities helpful, and we hope they will be useful to you at this stage. We will continue to update this section with examples and activities. Please share any feedback, or other examples you have found useful, on this researcher feedback form. These fall under four categories, and you can ‘pick and mix’ according to your needs and development objectives:

    • Information, policies and guidance for researchers at UON;
    • Existing resources via recorded sessions previously held at UON, or offered via development platforms that we have a license for, including Linda.com and SAGE research methods;
    • Forthcoming development sessions hosted by the University of Northampton;
    • Case studies of support, mentoring and protecting research time for you to develop your own ideas of the support mechanisms you need.

  • A big part of building our research community is developing supportive links between different individuals and teams. We really want to you to feel supported as you progress your research aspirations, whatever those aspirations might be. Here, you will find a list of the people/teams/centres who are there to support you. They are a good first port of call for you to seek support and guidance, and can signpost you to others if they aren’t able to help directly.

    Library and Learning Services

    Faculty research leads:

    Postgraduate research leads:

    Research Institutes and Centres | University of Northampton

  • Thinking about the future, now is the time to think about your next steps in terms of research. This might be consolidating your learning from this step, or you might want to develop your research skills and experience further. If you want to remain on this step, you can consider how to continue to develop your research knowledge and skills to underpin your current role, and to support your colleagues/team to do the same.

    If you want to take another step, you might want to consider applying to undertake a research degree; at UON we have PhDs, MPhils and Professional Doctorates available. The next section gives lot of information about these.