Dr. Heela Popal1, Dr. Katherine Howard1
1Intersect Australia, Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Dr. Heela Popal is Intersect Australia’s Digital Research Analyst (DRA) for UNSW based at the Research Technology Services (ResTech), UNSW. As a member of the community team at ResTech, Heela schedules and coordinates Intersect’s training program for UNSW researchers and staff. Heela has a PhD in the discipline of Government and International Relations from the University of Sydney and has been a sessional academic prior to the role of DRA at Intersect Australia. Dr. Popal was awarded the Dean's citation award for excellence in teaching and was appointed as a Post Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Sydney.
Dr. Katherine Howard is Intersect Australia’s Digital Research Analyst (DRA) for UniSA. She supports UniSA researchers by providing expertise in various digital tools and technologies, facilitating access to NCI’s HPC (Gadi), and coordinating Intersect’s training program for UniSA staff and students. Katherine’s background is in Information Science and she has extensive national and international experience as a researcher and academic.
Dr. Howard has received many scholarships and research awards. She was awarded a two-year scholarship to undertake the Erasmus Mundus International Master in Digital Library Learning, studying with world-renowned scholars in Norway, Estonia and Italy. Katherine was the first person outside of North America to win a Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, and her PhD, completed at QUT) was nominated for an Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award.
Katherine’s research focuses on new and emerging roles for information professionals, particularly around data science, research data management, and in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector. She also has a keen interest in the Digital Humanities.
Abstract:
The increasing reliance on technology in research has highlighted a significant disparity in training programs available to Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) researchers. While numerous initiatives focus on enhancing quantitative data analysis skills, there remains a notable deficiency in training for qualitative data analysis (QDA). This imbalance poses a critical challenge for HASS researchers, whose work predominantly relies on methodologies such as ethnography, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis.
The Decadal Plan for Social Science Research Infrastructure 2024-33 emphasises the need to cultivate "a top-tier workforce," partly through tailored social science training. Although Intersect is recognised as one of only two providers offering such training, an internal review reveals that more can be done to support the plan's goals and HASS researchers generally.
This presentation examines the current landscape of technology training for HASS researchers, highlighting the skewed emphasis on quantitative skills. It argues for a more tailored approach to upskilling, proposing a framework to develop comprehensive training programs addressing this gap.
Key elements include:
– Tailoring R programming courses for HASS researchers with a focus on qualitative data analysis.
– Offering workshops on the application/implementation of qualitative methods such as thematic analysis into QDA tools.
– Providing hands-on experience with digital tools for qualitative data collection and QDA.
Taking the lead of the Decadal plan, this session will outline a strategy for closing the gap in skills training for HASS researchers, to ensure that they can leverage technology effectively in their qualitative research endeavours and remain competitive in the evolving research landscape.