Sort your training needs
Nobody knows everything. We always need training or updating our skills. Sometimes we want to learn something new as a hobby or challenge, or need to acquire more expertise in order to get a job or promotion. If redundancy is on the horizon or directly affecting you, updating training may feel more acute than ever.
Earlier in the month you created your schedule for the next year. You may not have thought much about training or skills during that exercise, so today’s the time to do that.
You may already know what training you need, in which case you can spend today searching for courses (on or offline) to apply for. If you work for a university or other organisation check if they already offer the training you require, or ask if it can be provided. Your library, student study skills office, HR, or Occupational Therapy departments may be good places to begin.
Not completely sure what training you need?
Consider the training you:
- have to do (for example workplace equality or fire safety training).
- need to do (e.g. to learn a new skill or maintain professional registration).
- want to do (this might be something that would be useful but isn’t required for your job, at least not right now).
The range of training courses now available to students and researchers is vast, to the point that it can be easy to miss something you need or feel overwhelmed with choices. Cost can also be a barrier. Training may be in basic skills you don’t yet have, or link with skills you have but that you are unsure how to convey to others. For example, you might not know how to undertake research so would need training in that; or you could be an Early Career Researcher with practical experience but have no formal training in supervision, nor understand regulations, frameworks etc.
Some people are clear about their training requirements, but for others the struggle is they don’t know what to ask for. To help you get started, the list below summarises the more popular topic areas people tell me they need help with:
- Ethical issues in research (including getting ethical approval and what to do if there’s no ethics committee available)
- Different methodologies to consider and use (including qualitative, quantitative, mixed, participatory and creative methods)
- Decolonizing methodologies
- How to write a research question
- Planning and designing a research study
- Literature searching, critical appraisal and evidence synthesis
- How to analyse data (including understanding statistics and how to undertake qualitative analysis of varying kinds)
- How to apply for and get research funding
- Piloting and troubleshooting
- Making research accessible and inclusive
- Understanding, improving and embedding Research Culture
- Writing techniques (including note taking and writing for diverse audiences in different formats)
- Making an impact and sustaining research
- Understanding Research Integrity
- Attending to – and potentially resisting – metrification and other formal measures and assessments
- What’s plagiarism? And how to avoid it
- Learning how to use all those gadgets, gizmos and other tools that might benefit your work
- Introductions to regulations, rubrics, protocols, guidelines, concordats and other mandatory and optional guidance that inform teaching, practice, research, personal development and pastoral care
- Presentation and dissemination skills (noting diverse techniques and options to match varying access needs)
- Dealing with Imposter Syndrome
- Study skills, revision and exam techniques
- Teaching/supervision skills and creating a teaching portfolio
- How to find a jobs, write a CV, ace an interview, navigate promotions procedures, and progress one’s career
- How to get published (including creating a publications strategy)
- Using social media in/for research, including increasing one’s own online presence; and dealing with online abuse
- Community, participatory and user-led approaches
- How to get people to join in your research (and what to do if response rates are low)
- Involving and influencing stakeholders
- Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
- Rights and welfare of minority students and staff
- Personal safety (including on fieldwork, placements, and when working with archives and secondary data)
- Wellbeing, self-care, help-seeking and help-giving
- Supporting disabled students and staff (including those who’re neurodivergent)
- Dealing with redundancy and concerns over lack of academic career prospects
You’ll notice from this list many of the items overlap, compliment, or lead on from one another. For example, you might want to address equality, safety, rights and access while also planning how to welcome diverse participants to a study. Or appreciate what methods are available as you learn to plan, manage and latterly disseminate a project.
What suits you best?
As you consider the list above, are there areas you agree you would like training in? Or perhaps there are areas that are missing – please add those to the comments below this blog post so others might get more ideas of where extra support may be necessary.
You’ll notice these are very broad categories. For example, ‘exam techniques’ could include how to answer a question, manage time, cope with nerves, or interpret questions effectively. It might extend to how one teaches students to answer exam questions, wider revision support, signposting to who might provide this assistance on or off campus. Or how to provide pastoral care during exam season and meeting accommodation requirements, attending to extenuating circumstances, and managing inevitable absences. Topics like EDIB (Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging), Research Culture and Integrity are potentially vast areas.
Alternatively, ‘different methodologies to consider’ might sadly be what’s often offered to students and staff – a brief, outdated, whistle stop tour of all quantitative and qualitative methods (with the former suggested as ‘better’) and no mention of participatory or community approaches at all. You can think about what you don’t want from training or what’s been missing thus far, to help you clarify what you do need and should be demanding of your employer to offer.
Sometimes when we’ve had poor training we leave assuming the fault lies with us. But it may be the training wasn’t fit for purpose or not suited to your needs and circumstances. In academia there’s often an unhelpful mindset that having had one training course you’re now fully qualified. Whereas in reality you’ll need continual, evolving professional development throughout your career.
Use the list above as a starter to help you identify where you may need to offer more training to others or seek it for yourself, broadening as needed and critiquing ideas as appropriate.
How do I work out what I want?
To identify specific training needs you could record yourself thinking aloud; or sketch out or list areas where you feel you need support.
For example, you might have lots of data so note you need training in a particular analysis package plus how to present your findings once you have them. Or you may discover while you’ve been focused on writing a paper for publication you are less sure how to use social media to share your findings and would like to learn that; but along the way discover you could take a comedy course for presenters to help make your work more engaging and increase your confidence.
As we increasingly shift online – and back off again – you may want to use the list above to note where you are confident working online and where you need specific training either in a particular research or teaching skill, or in learning the tools to effectively implement those skills online or in a hybrid or blended format. For example, many people who learned core research skills online only due to the pandemic are now having to re-learn or adjust to face-to-face environments.
Different approaches, settings, locations, participants, philosophies, epistemologies and theories will all impact on the kind of training you’ll need – even (or especially) if this is a field you know well.
Your circumstances, topics you’re responding to and any immediate issues will impact on the urgency of what training you access and when. It’s common, particularly early in a project or your research, teaching, or pastoral care career to feel you need to learn all the things, all at once. That’s not realistic, so part of this Researcher Renew activity is
- Identify the different training you require (noting why you need it)
- Check where different training areas overlap, compliment, or inform each other
- Prioritise your training in order of need and urgency
- Map this into your schedule, being careful not to overload yourself or destabilise other activities or essential tasks
Where, when and how to get training
If you’re busy the thought of training can feel overwhelming, even if you know said training would make your life easier in the long term. As you consider what training would suit you, note also your availability, energy levels and access needs.
This might include noting if you prefer to learn in-person, online, or hybrid. Whether a self-directed course of study is better. Or if you’d like something that has very definite time limits or more flexibility. Do you need training that comes with certification? That may be an important consideration, as may cost.
If you are based in a university or other setting for your research, as mentioned there may already be courses available to you. Or you may be able to access funds to either bring in a trainer to teach you and other colleagues, or access as part of a personalised learning plan.
If you require specific accommodations to join in learning, raise this with your employer before assuming nothing is available or you have to pay yourself. Where possible, embed training and access requirements within your workplace reviews or other meetings (e.g. with Occupational Health) so this is a formalised, ring-fenced part of your job. Some people prefer specific days off for in-person or live online learning for this reason, so it stops their learning slipping because other people and other tasks get in the way.
It takes courage, but if you need additional help, ask trainers and course providers before any event (ideally when you register). They may be able to assist with notes or slides in advance; an easy-read version of information; help with translators, interpreters or captioning. I can’t speak for all trainers, but I’m always pleased to receive questions in advance from people who’re coming on my courses, or other specific requests I can meet to ensure their experience is a positive one. It’s also fine to message afterwards if anything wasn’t clear, if you require further materials, or signposting to further sources of training and information.
Remember, if you have mandatory training (e.g. Keeping Children Safe in Education; Fire Safety etc) that has to happen through the year, note this into your schedule with reminders these activities are approaching. That may be particularly relevant if there are any financial or other sanctions or barriers attached to not having current certificates or other evidence of competency.
If you found this difficult
It may be you have numerous, interlinking, training needs. If that’s the case you may have to take whatever course is open to you depending on availability; but you might want to schedule your learning so what you study fits with your research timeline with each new skill you learn enhancing the next.
Alternatively you may be on a low income and worry you can’t afford training. There are lots of free courses available online, or how-to videos on YouTube. Many publishers in particular have these so check out their websites. Podcasts can also be a valuable source of information, and some events offer discounted or free places or bursaries. As you seek out training make time to search for assisted places. A great example for those in Low and Middle Income Countries is Author Aid. Lots of people share calls for training, talks, webinars and free resources (including papers and toolkits) on social media; while others find setting up WhatsApp groups a useful place to both swap tips and share opportunities for low or no-cost training and materials.
You may have been aware of your training needs, and the rapid shifts over the last five years to learn many more skills than previously, while also not having the time to accept training you’ve been offered or to practice what you have been taught. Remember it is okay to prioritise training if you need space to develop a core skill, to ask other people for help to make it work, and to request additional support or reminders if you are struggling to put theory into practice. It may be you’ve learned lots of new skills recently that were daunting at first but you’re now excelling at (or at least aren’t finding so difficult). Offer your tips and hacks to others, who may not want to admit they need assistance, but will be very grateful for your insights.
If you have done any training in the past that you found invaluable, tell us what you learned (and where) in the comments. Low cost and study at home options especially welcome. You can also recommend training topics on the hashtag #ResearcherRenew on Bluesky, Threads or LinkedIn.
As with the other tasks in #ResearcherRenew there’s no pressure, so don’t feel you must fill your year with lots of training. Instead work out what you definitely need to do, and then schedule that into your year. Remember to include time spent identifying training courses (on or offline), training events themselves, travel, and preparation/assessment/homework. And keep this going from now on, that way you keep your skills updated. Plus if you spot some training you don’t need but someone else might benefit from you can always pass it on.