Useful resources
Below is an A-Z of websites, papers, toolkits and other useful stuff to help you on your research journey. I’m always updating this resource so if there’s something you think I need to include here please let me know. This is in no way a complete nor systematic list of all resources for the social or health services or development. Instead, consider it a virtual rummage bin of things I find on my travels that I hope are useful to you as well. More how-to guidance on getting your research done can be found in the Research Companion book
A
Action Research
Infed Guide to Action Research
Centre for Applied Social Research
Offender Health Research Network
Activism
Social Action and Research Foundation
Psychologists Against Austerity
Bratislava Declaration of Young Researchers
School for Health and Care Radicals
Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Anonymity and Confidentiality
University of Lancaster’s Guide on Anonymity and Confidentiality
Managing anonymity and confidentiality
in social research: the case of visual data
in Community research
Principles of Anonymity, Confidentiality and Data Protection
Anthropology
Authorship
Publication Practices & Responsible Authorship
Wikipedia on Academic Authorship
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors – defining roles of authors and contributors
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
B
C
Career Advice
Case reports and studies
A (Very) Brief Refresher on the Case Study Method
Cohort Studies
Medical Research Council’s Cohort Directory
Communications
Communications in healthcare improvement, a toolkit
Critical Appraisal and reading skills
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme
CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) Tools and Checklists
What is critical appraisal (list of checklists)
How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine
Critical Appraisal: Notes and checklists
Critical appraisal of a journal article
University of Michigan’s How to Read A Book
Critical Thinking/Methods
Collaboration
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools
Wikipedia on Collaborative Methods
Knowledge Incubation in Innovation and Creation for Science (KiiCS)
Community
Comparative Research
Wikipedia on Comparative Research
The comparative approach: theory and method
Methodology in comparative studies
Conferences
Patient/Community/Lay/Consumer Involvement
Consumer involvement: a new perspective
Cochrane Consumers and Communication
North West People in Research Forum
Public Involvement Impact Assessment Framework (PiiAF)
Consent
Informed Consent Resources (University of Southampton)
Informed Consent (links to resources and tools)
Content Analysis
Sociological research skills on content analysis
Introduction to content analysis
Conversation Analysis
Wikipedia on conversation analysis
Introductory tutorial in conversation analysis
Cross Cultural Practice
Society for Cross Cultural Research
Wikipedia on Cross Cultural Studies
Cross National Research
Methods for Cross National Research Initiative
Wikipedia on Cross National Research
Cross Sectional Research
Wikipedia on Cross Sectional Research
Cultural Studies
D
Data
UK Data Service Student Resources
Childrens’ Investment Fund Foundation guide to Data and Evidence
BMJ films on improving graphs and tables
Data Collection
Demography
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Development
UK Collaborative on Development Science
UNDP Millennium Development Goals for 2015
Overseas Development Institute
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
London International Development Centre
European Centre for Development Policy Management
Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University
Development Studies Association
LSE’s Directory of Development Consultancies and Think Tanks
International Institute for Environment and Development
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
Canadian International Development Agency
Australian Agency for International Development
International Studies Association
Wikipedia global list of development aid agencies
Taylor and Francis open access publications on MDGs
All Africa’s resources on development
Information about African Countries
Diaries
Wikipedia on diary studies in user research
Morgan Centre Manchester guide to using diaries
Digital, Tech and ICT
Association for Learning Technology
Knowledge Incubation in Innovation and Creation for Science
Open Knowledge and Open Education
Digital Methods as Mainstream Methodology (2013 report from NCRM)
Overview of Social Media Research Tools
New Social Media New Social Science
A-Z of social media for academics
Discourse Analysis
Wikipedia on Discourse Analysis
Dissertations
How to start your dissertation
How to write your dissertation
Planning and conducting a dissertation project (University of Leicester)
Completing your dissertation without tears
O’Leary: Doing your research project
Doing research in the real world
Disaster, Conflict and Humanitarian Work
Medecins Sans Frontieres Field Research
International Rescue Committee
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Crisis States Research Network
Peace and Collaborative Development Network
Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (ATHA)
Emergency Capacity Building Project
Uppsala Department of Peace and Conflict Research
Dissemination
Strategies for disseminating research findings
Distance Learning
Open University Distance Learning Courses
University of London International Programmes
International Council for Open and Distance Education
Documentary Analysis
The use of Documentary Research Methods in Social Research
E
Economics
International Economic Association
The Atlas (tracking economic growth)
Globe (Harvard guide to companies)
African Finance and Economic Association
The African Econometric Society
East Asian Economic Association
Asia Pacific Economic Association
International AIDS Economics Network
International Budget Partnership
Education
National Foundation for Educational Research
Research at Department for Education (UK)
British Educational Research Association
London Connection (online magazine for University of London’s International Programmes)
International Education Network
Professionals in International Education (PIE)
Schools and Students Health Education Unit (SHEU)
Science of Continuing Education
Crybrary Man’s Educational Websites (and hashtags)
Environment
African Network of Environmental Humanities
Epidemiology
Medicine and Health: Epidemiology
Ethics
The TRUST Project (protecting vulnerable populations)
Social Research Association Ethical Guidelines
Association for Research Ethics
Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees – Ethical Guidelines for Research
Training and Resources in Research Ethics Evaluation
Research Ethics Training Curriculum
International Development Ethics Association
University of Leeds Ethics Resources
Ethics and Engagement across the Wellcome Overseas Programme (e-MOPs)
Committee on Professional Ethics (American Sociological Association)
University of Otago’s Ethics Application Repository
Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics
Ethnography
Evaluation
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
<strong>Event History Analysis
Evidence Based
Evidence based healthcare and systematic reviews
What is evidence based medicine?
Reframing evidence synthesis as rhetorical action in the policy making drama
The mess on the web (evidence synthesis)
European Association for Health Information and Libraries
Exclusion and Inclusion Criteria
Wikipedia on Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
Protocol design: inclusion and exclusion criteria
Exploratory Research
Wikipedia on Exploratory Research
F
Find a Job (plus M, PhD and postdoc level opportunities)
Jobs.ac.uk
Highered Jobs
Nature Jobs
Find a university job
New Scientist
Vitae
Times Higher
Guardian
Academic Jobs (EU)
Academic 360
Academic Transfer
Career.edu
Science Careers
Hire Wire
Research Professional
Development Worker
DevEx
Going Global
Agence Francaise + Developpement
BMJ Careers
Health Jobs
Global Charity Jobs
Guardian International Jobs
One World Jobs
Find a PhD
Postgraduate Studentships
Postgraduate Forum
Find a postdoc
Fulbright (US scholarships for UK scholars)
USA Scholarships
German Academic Exchange Service Scholarships
Global Academy Jobs
Commonwealth Scholarships
Opportunities for Africans
Scholars 4 Dev
Prospects
Scholarship Links
We Make Scholars
Many institutions advertise scholarships, fellowships and job opportunities internally. If you look at the ‘Higher Education’ and ‘Funding’ sections these provide additional places to look for work or study opportunities.
Focus Groups
Planning and research design for focus groups
Funding and research organisations
National Endowment for the Humanities
European Association for the study of Science and Technology
World Health Organisation (WHO) Grants
IMMANA Grants (agriculture and nutrition)
Association of Medical Research Charities
Commonwealth Scholarships Commission
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
National Research Foundation (SA)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Social Sciences and Humanities Council (Canada)
Independent Social Research Foundation
Norface (New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Co-operation in Europe)
Cash for Questions blog (Social Science Research Funding)
American Council of Learned Societies
US Department of Education Student Loans
The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
American Philosophical Association Diversity and Inclusiveness Funding
Happiness and Wellbeing Grants
DIFD Funding finder email alert service
Top 10 Tips on How to Get Funding
Guide for writing a funding proposal
Social Science Research Funding
Vitae’s guide on seeking funding and links to European funding sources
Emory Prevention Research Centre presentation on ‘Why Grant Proposals Fail’
Beginnings: how to write your first grant proposal. Nature Blogs
G
Geography
Global Health
Institute For Global Health (UCL)
Healthcare Information For All
Health and Education Advice and Resource Team (HEAT)
SciDevNet (Science and Technology for Global Development)
Wellbeing Research in Developing Countries
South African Regional Poverty Network
Disease Control Priorities DP3
Globalisation and Migration
International Labour Organisation
International Health Policices
Migration, Globalisation and Poverty
International Organisation for Migration
Ecosystems Services for Poverty Alleviation
Governance
Replacing the Research Governance Framework
Grey Literature
Grounded Theory
H
Healthcare
The EQUATOR Network (Enhancing the QUAlity and transparency of healthcare research)
UK Clinical Research Collaboration
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools
Best Health (evidenced information to help healthcare decisions)
Evidence Based Medicine Toolkit
The Risk Communication Institute (features visual tools for communicating risk)
Health and Care Professions Council
The Academy of Fabulous NHS Stuff
NHS England learning environment
UK Society for Behavioural Medicine
Higher Education
Access to HE (details of UK courses and studies for degree level entry)
Society for Research into Higher Education
World Education Services – Regional Educational Links
Online learning and distance education resources
Society for the Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science
Council for the Defence of British Universities
Association of Commonwealth Universities
History
Cheiron: The International Society for the History of the Behavioral and Social Sciences
Working Class Movement Library
The Disability History Association
Institute of Historical Research
Humanities
London Arts and Humanities Partnership
I
International
Impact
Innovation
Innovations in social science research methods
International Development Innovation Network
Interaction Analysis
Interaction analysis: Foundations and practice
Interviews
J
Just for Fun
K
L
Literature Reviewing
The literature review: a few tips on conducting it
Deakin University Library Search and Literature Review Guide
Literature Searching
100 Search Engines for Academic Research
Longitudinal
What is qualitative longitudinal research?
Understanding Society (UK Household Longitudinal Survey)
M
Marginalised Scholars
How to prep for grad school while poor
LGBT Aid and Development Workers
British Black Academics PhD Network
Black Sisters Network: Black British Academics
National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities
Media Diversified, resources for academics
Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education and Society
Dismantling the Master’s House
CASA (Casual, Adjunct, Sessional Staff and Allies in Higher Education in Australia)
Media and Culture
Medical Humanities
LitMed – Literature Arts Medicine Database
Association for Medical Humanities
Mental Health
Centre for Global Mental Health
Meta Analysis
Method*
Responsible conduct of Research
Directory of Social Research Methods
Research methods: some notes to orient you
Exploratory, descriptive and causal research designs
Research Methods Knowledge Base
Electronic Resources for Research Methods
Free Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods
Methodspace (resources and books on methods from Sage publishers)
Political Sciences Replication
Research Methods in the Social Sciences (collection of videos)
Mixed Methods International Research Association
University of Southern California’s Research Help and How-Tos
HE Academy’s Frameworks and Toolkits
N
Narrative Methods
Telling stories: narrative approaches in qualitative research
Networking Opportunities
Nominal Groups
Gaining consensus among stakeholders through the nominal group technique
O
Observation
Advantages and disadvantages of observation
Participant observation field guide
Observational research methods
Older People
WHO’s database of age-friendly practices
Open Access
British Sign Language Corpus Project
NOBA – teach and learn psychology for free
Scholarly and Research Communication
MOOC around the world – list of global courses
Oral History
P
Participatory Methods
Understanding Everyday Participation
World Bank on Participatory Methods
Toolkit for Citizen Participation
Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit
IIED Participatory Learning and Action
Participatory Learning Techniques
CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation)
Participatory Research Methods: A methodological approach in motion
Morgan Centre Manchester’s guide to participatory methods and Participatory Mapping
Peer Review
Sense About Science on Peer Review
PhDs
Dissertation/Thesis Guide (available in English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese)
Philosophy
Piloting
The importance of pilot studies
Plagiarism
American Journal Experts – Avoiding Plagiarism
Policy
Postdoc
National Postdoctoral Association
Presenting Your Work
Protocols
Life Science Protocol Repository
Psychology
Psychological Society of South Africa
European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations
Journal of European Psychology Students blog (JEPS Bulletin)
International Association of Applied Psychology
International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology
American Psychological Association (Plus Divisions)
Asian Association of Social Psychology
Canadian Social and Personality Psychology
European Association of Social Psychology
Japanese Society of Social Psychology
Society for Philosophy and Psychology
Association for Psychological Science
Federation of Associations in Behavioural and Brain Sciences
Association of Black Psychologists
International Council of Psychologists
International Social Cognition Network
International Society for Self and Identity
International Society for Political Psychology
Society for Community Research and Action
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Society for Social Neuroscience
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
National Academy of Psychology India
The Japanese Psychological Association
Iranian Psychological Association
Caribbean Alliance of National Psychological Associations
International Society for Theoretical Psychology
European Health Psychology Society
British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology
American Psychological Society Division 38 Health Psychology
International Society for Critical Health Psychology
Public Health
Society of Public Health Education
Scope – Medical Blog, Stanford
Public Engagement
National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (UK)
Natural Sciences Collections Association
RCUK Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research
Publishing
Deakin University Library toolkit for writing papers for publication
How to write an academic paper
Wendy Belcher Writing your paper in 12 weeks
European Association of Science Editors – how to write a scientific paper
Society for Scholarly Publishing
Elgar Blog’s tips for getting published
Q
Qualitative
Qual Page (resources for qualitative researchers)
Forum: Qualitative Social Research
Intersectional Qualitative Research Methods Institute
British Psychological Society Qualitative Methods Section
Successful Qualitative Research: A practical guide for beginners
Morgan Centre Manchester’s guides to picking, using, transcribing and analysing qualitative data
Quality
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
NHS Scotland Quality Improvement Hub
Questionnaires
PEAS – Practical Exemplars and Survey Analysis
R
Realist Evaluation
Referencing
Deakin University Library guide to referencing
Learning Scientist blog’s APA Template Guide
Reflexivity
The reflexive interview and a performative social science
Including the researcher in the research
Refugee Academics
Council for at Risk Academics (CARA)
UKCISA guidance for refugee students
Reproducibility
Research Councils
Rural Health
Comprehensive Rural Health Project
S
Safety, self care and wellbeing
Participant safety and wellbeing
Relief Web resources on safety and security
Academic Mental Health Collective
SANG (Sexual Assault Network for Grads)
Campus Sexual Violence Resource List
AAUP Resources on Sexual Harassment and Assault
The Intervention Initiative (UWE)
Science Communication
Science in Public Research Network
The Big Picture’s Go Further: A practical guide to extended science projects
Indian Science Communication Society
Resources to get you started in Research Communication (Evaluation and Communication in Practice)
SciComm Central (Facebook Group)
Search Engine*
100 Search Engines for Academic Research
Wikipedia list of academic databases and search engines
Secondary Analysis
Secondary Analysis of Qualitative Data
Secondary data analysis: an introduction
Self care for academics
Conditionally Accepted’s Thank a public scholar
Social Science*
Consortium Of Social Science Associations (COSSA)
What is social science research?
The Social Research Association
Society for Social Studies of Science
The New West (Political Sciences)
International Social Science Council
Economic and Social Research Council’s YouTube Channel
Manchester School of Social Sciences
e-Source Behavioural and Social Sciences Research
Human Sciences Research Council
Sociology
British Sociological Association
Sociologists for Women in Society
Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness
South African Sociological Association
SocRel (Sociology of Religion)
Norton Sociology’s YouTube channel (lots of methodology films covering diverse research topics)
International Sociology Association
Stakeholder
Mind Tools Stakeholder Analysis
ASA Activity on Stakeholder analysis and stakeholder participation
Statistics
Worldwide List of Statistical Organisations
List of academic statistical Associations
South African Statistical Society
International Statistical Institute
Philippine Statistical Association
International Indian Statistical Association
International Chinese Statistical Association
American Statistical Association
Study Skills
Palgrave Study Skills – Research Methods
Thinkwell free study planners and guides
Cal Newport books and resources
University of Leicester’s Graduate School Reading Room
James Cook University Workshop Notes
Sage’s resources for students
Supervision and Mentoring
Systematic Review
AMSTAR (Assessing Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews)
T
Teaching and Learning (Research Methods)
Not awful and boring examples for teaching statistics and research methods
Higher Education Academy Toolkits
Library of Congress Research Tools
Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools
Effective and Efficient Faculty
McMaster Institute for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Pedagogy Ideas (for educators in developing countries)
Theatre
Think Tanks
Institute for Public Policy Research
Third Sector
Trials
Consort (Transparent reporting of trials)
Help Make History (explaining and promoting trials, particularly around HIV vaccines)
American Economic Association’s RCT Registry
U
V
Visual and creative methods
Morgan Centre Manchester’s guide to ethics in visual research
Crafts Council Digital Storytelling
Transformative Storytelling for Social Change
Volunteering
W
Writing Skills
Centre for Writing University of Minnesota
National Association of Science Writers
Howard Tilton Memorial Library Writing Guides
PKP School’s Writing for Publication tutorials
University of Arizona’s Graduate Writing Resource
English Communication for Scientists (Nature)
American Psychological Association (APA) Writing Style
Scientist Squirrel – the scientist’s guide to writing
Minimum standards of reporting guidance
Knight Science Journalism (MIT) resources for science writing
Science Writing Resources for Learning (ScWRL) University of British Colombia
Raewyn Connell’s Writing for Research
X
Y
Youth
Z