Extra Skills: Participatory research, Qualitative research, Transdisciplinary collaboration, Critical thinking, Co-creation
Themes: Inclusivity, Health and wellbeing, Participatory research
Type: Honours Class: This course combines theory and practice to learn how to tackle a complex issue.
Admission requirements
This course is an (extracurricular) Master Honours Class aimed at talented Master’s students. Admission will be based on academic background, GPA and motivation.
Description
Are you interested in learning how to make an impact with your research? Do you want to explore inclusive and empowering research practices? And are you eager to get involved and delve into action? If so, this is the course for you.
In this course, you will explore the interrelation between research and society, and learn to become a conscientious and impactful researcher. You will experience the transformative power of research and understand its implications for different groups and communities. We will discuss the crucial role researchers play in shaping these outcomes, and you will gain practical experience using participatory and qualitative research methods.
During the course, you will attend interactive lectures and form multidisciplinary teams to work on a practice-oriented research project in the field of health and wellbeing. Your project will involve direct collaboration with organizations like care organizations and community centres. You will learn hands-on research skills, including how to work with diverse groups of people, and how to design and conduct research that is transdisciplinary, inclusive, and reciprocal.
This interactive journey emphasizes on practical research skills, such as critical self-reflection, navigating relational processes ‘in the field’, acknowledging personal biases, and handling ethical dilemmas with care and sensitivity. Finally, you will practice in presenting your findings in an inclusive and reciprocal manner.
Course objectives
The overall goal of this course is to equip students with suitable theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills, and to nurture awareness of their impact on the research process and the lives of those involved.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will:
have gained insight into your role as researcher, the implications for both your target audience, society, and yourself;
have learned the basics of participatory research methodology, and gained experience with applying these methods in practice;
be able to identify and apply participatory methods based on the specific requirements of different target groups;
have gained hands on experience with designing and conducting a transdisciplinary and practice-oriented research project;
critically and creatively reflect upon your personal role as researcher and relational processes, including personal biases, ethical considerations and care;
know about the different ways in which research can create societal and policy impact, and benefit individuals;
have learned soft-skills: be able to present your findings in an inclusive and reciprocal manner, both to academia and society.
Programme and Timetable
Each week, you will attend an interactive lecture at Leyden Academy to learn the basics of participatory research. Attendance is mandatory. The sessions of this class will take place from 17.30 - 20.00 on the following Thursdays.
Additionally, you will do practical work for your group project. To guide you through the research process, your group will be assigned a mentor, with whom you will plan weekly meetings.
Session 1: Thursday, 7 November 2024
Introduction to inclusive research in health and wellbeing
Session 2: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Participatory methods – the background
Session 3: Thursday, 21 November
How to start an inclusive research project
Session 4: Thursday, 28 November
Participatory methods - what's new and how to apply?
Session 5: Thursday, 5 December
Independent group work – no class
Session 6: Thursday, 12 December
Ethical considerations and political implications
Session 7: Thursday, 19 December
Analysis and iteration
Winter Break
Session 8: Thursday, 16 January
The various forms of societal impact
Session 9: Thursday, 23 January
Communication and reciprocity
Session 10: Thursday, 30 January
Independent group work – no class
Session 11: Thursday, 6 February
Final presentations
Location
Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing, room 0.15,
Poortgebouw, South Entrance
Rijnsburgerweg 10, 2333 AA Leiden.
Course load
This course is worth 5 ECTS, which means the total course load equals 140 hours.
Lectures: 22.5 hours - 9 seminars of 2.5 hours (mandatory in-person participation)
Mentor meetings: 8 hours - 8 group meetings of 1 hour (mandatory in-person participation)
Self-study: 25 hours - approx. 1.5 hours per week
Practical work: 45 hours - approx. 3.5 hours per week (will differ per week)
Final assignments and coursework: approx. 40 hours
Assessment
Participation (assessed continually in attending and actively participating in lectures, mentor meetings and other activities) (10%)
Creative personal learning and reflection product (30%)
Final presentation of findings – based on the preferences of the researched target audience and challenge (to be determined by the students) (30%)
Group paper (30%): paper of max 3000 words, including fieldwork notes
Reading list
Abma, T., Banks, S., Cook, T., Dias, S., Madsen, W., Springett, J., Wright, M.T. (2019). Participatory Research for Health and Social Well-being. Springer.
Foster, V. (2012). The pleasure principle: employing arts-based methods in social work research. European Journal of Social Work, 15(4), 532–545. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2012.702311
Groot, B., Haveman, A., & Abma, T. (2022). Relational, ethically sound co-production in mental health care research: epistemic injustice and the need for an ethics of care. Critical Public Health, 32(2), 230–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2020.1770694
Verhage, M., Lindenberg, J., Bussemaker, M., & Abma, T. A. (2024). The Promises of Inclusive Research Methodologies: Relational Design and Praxis. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241230407
Other possible literature will be announced in class or via Brightspace.
Brightspace and uSis
Brightspace will be used in this course. Upon admission students will be enrolled in Brightspace by the teaching administration.
Please note: students are not required to register through uSis for the Master Honours Classes. Your registration will be done centrally.
Registration
Submitting an application for this course is possible from Monday, 23 September until and including Sunday, 13 October 2024 through the link on the Honours Academy student website.
Note: students don’t have to register for the Master Honours Classes in uSis. The registration is done centrally before the start of the class.
Contact
Lieke de Kock: kock@leydenacademy.nl
LUMC Public Health and Primary Care/ Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing