PhD training and development

About the project

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About

Pursuing a PhD is increasingly seen as more than producing a thesis and acquiring a scholarly specialism. Your motivations for embarking on a PhD journey may vary, but by the end of it, you will be expected to be able to operate as an independent and competent researcher in various professional contexts and achieve broader social impacts.

In order to better prepare you for the current competitive economy and other challenges ahead of you, SOAS is committed to the academic and professional development of all doctoral researchers. Our doctoral training programme is robust and in line with the recommendations of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Vitae Researcher Development Framework, and other good practices of the sector.

Training Needs Analysis

Given the abundance of opportunities but the pressures of time, it is crucial for doctoral researchers to plan and monitor their researcher development activities strategically. The annual Training Needs Analysis (on PhD Manager ) has been designed to help you and your supervisors in that process.

The TNA is a conversation between a doctoral researcher and their lead supervisor at the beginning of each academic year, whereby both parties identify skills areas that need further development and make prioritised action plans for that year.

Throughout the rest of the year, the doctoral researcher then maintains a record (on PhD Manager ) of development activities they undertake as per their TNA. That record will feed into the researcher’s Annual Progress Review .

Common Core modules

PhD training at SOAS takes place principally at the disciplinary level, led and overseen by the PhD Programme Conveners in the respective departments. This is complemented by interdisciplinary and transferable research skills training open to all research students across the institution, including two credit-bearing “Common Core” modules by the Doctoral School.

Besides their department training, all first-year students are expected to complete Common Core I at least.

Common Core I: Research Project Management Open

This module covers essential research skills that all SOAS PhD students need to develop regardless of their disciplines. Students will collectively and individually explore ten key topics on designing and managing a successful research project, laying a strong foundation for their theses and research careers. All new students will complete this module in Term 1 as part of their required training before the MPhil-toPhD upgrade.

Delivered in a blended mode, the course will be available on Moodle to accommodate the diverse backgrounds and schedules of PGR students. Each weekly content includes a Unit Description, Resources, and Activities. These online elements will be complemented by weekly offline sessions.

To pass the module and obtain its 30 credits, students must complete all online activities, whereas offline attendance is optional.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:

• formulate research questions that are specific, answerable, and relevant
• critically evaluate and synthesise material from different sources
• assess the strengths and weaknesses of two or more possible research methods and determine which is most suitable for their research questions and aims
• understand the importance of ethics and integrity in research
• understand the importance of the wellbeing of the research participants and the researcher
• communicate research processes and outcomes to various academic and nonacademic audiences
• apply the principles and good practices of research project management to their own work

Topics covered

• PhD requirements, expectations, and support
• research ethics, integrity, and governance
• defining the scope of research and formulating research questions
• advanced literature searches and reviews
• copyright, referencing, and reference management
• working with feedback
• time management and self-care
• preparing for fieldwork: visas, safety, and security
• data management planning
• open scholarship and public engagement

Workload

The module includes six hours of online activities and two hours of classroom sessions per week. For students not based at SOAS, classroom hours will be replaced by independent study.

Method of assessment

• Participation in all interactive exercises on Moodle (20%)
• Research Project Canvas (up to 5,000 words, 80%)

Common Core II: Technology-Enhanced Research Open

This module in Term 2 aims to help all SOAS PhD students across the institution develop the necessary knowledge and skills for conducting high-quality research in the digital age. Students will work collectively and individually through ten key topics on engaging with digital tools and sources, laying a strong foundation for their theses and research careers.

This is an optional module, unlike Common Core I, but students who complete both Common Core I and II successfully will be eligible for a Postgraduate Certificate if they withdraw from the PhD programme.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:

• understand the impact of digital technology on research
• evaluate digitally sourced information
• assess the strengths and weaknesses of two or more digital tools and determine which is most suitable for their own inquiries
• critically review digital methods used by other researchers
• develop their own research presence online
• apply good data management practices in their research

Topics covered

• being a researcher in the age of big data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence
• evaluating digitally sourced information
• choosing suitable tools for data collection
• choosing suitable tools for data visualisation
• scraping data from the web
• ethnographic research in a digital world
• computer-assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS)
• evaluating digital methods used in publications
• building and managing an online research presence
• good cybersecurity practices for researchers

Workload

The module includes six hours of online activities and two hours of classroom sessions per week. For students not based at SOAS, classroom hours will be replaced by independent study.

Method of assessment

These two modules are designed to provide all SOAS PhD students with a strong foundation in research ethics, risk assessment, wellbeing, data management, open scholarship, and critical digital literacy, as well as fostering collegiality and collaboration beyond the students’ home departments.

SOAS is a member of the ESRC’s UBEL DTP, the AHRC’s CHASE Consortium, the Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network (BPSN), and the Bloomsbury Doctoral Partnership (with Birkbeck, LSHTM, the UCL Institute of Education, and the Royal Veterinary College). We benefit from and contribute to training sharing schemes and events within all of these networks.

• Participation in all interactive exercises on Moodle (20%)
• Two written assignments on methodology (up to 1,500 words and 3,000 words, weighted at 30% and 50%, respectively)

Training opportunities and resources

Useful links for PhD students, including training opportunities and further development resources.

In this section

• Training opportunities and resources

PGCert Advanced Research Skills

Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Research Skills at SOAS University of London.

Research areas