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Methodological approaches at PhD and skills sought for research posts in academia: a mismatch?

Methodological approaches at PhD and skills sought for research posts in academia: a mismatch?
Methodological approaches at PhD and skills sought for research posts in academia: a mismatch?
There is a concern in the UK about a lack of research methods skills among social researchers, especially in relation to quantitative methods. This article draws on findings of a study exploring the training needs of social scientists across the lifespan in the UK and focuses on the research training needs identified by PhD students and the research skills sought by academic employers. The data reported comprises a survey of PhD students, a survey of directors of research centres/holders of large grants and a content analysis of social science research posts. The findings indicate that students in several social science disciplines have a preference for qualitative methods in their PhDs while academic employers and job vacancies for academic posts indicate a need for researchers with skills in quantitative methods. The findings have important implications for training and supervision of research students and identify a need to narrow the gap between early-career researchers' skills and employers' needs.
1364-5579
257-269
Wiles, Rose
5bdc597b-716c-4f60-9f45-631ecca25571
Durrant, Gabriele
14fcc787-2666-46f2-a097-e4b98a210610
De Broe, Sofie
4f463fc3-4955-4997-840e-a23f34389158
Powell, Jackie
a9aed738-e0ec-49aa-9beb-113f8cfe0d6f
Wiles, Rose
5bdc597b-716c-4f60-9f45-631ecca25571
Durrant, Gabriele
14fcc787-2666-46f2-a097-e4b98a210610
De Broe, Sofie
4f463fc3-4955-4997-840e-a23f34389158
Powell, Jackie
a9aed738-e0ec-49aa-9beb-113f8cfe0d6f

Wiles, Rose, Durrant, Gabriele, De Broe, Sofie and Powell, Jackie (2009) Methodological approaches at PhD and skills sought for research posts in academia: a mismatch? International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 12 (3), 257-269. (doi:10.1080/13645570701708550).

Record type: Article

Abstract

There is a concern in the UK about a lack of research methods skills among social researchers, especially in relation to quantitative methods. This article draws on findings of a study exploring the training needs of social scientists across the lifespan in the UK and focuses on the research training needs identified by PhD students and the research skills sought by academic employers. The data reported comprises a survey of PhD students, a survey of directors of research centres/holders of large grants and a content analysis of social science research posts. The findings indicate that students in several social science disciplines have a preference for qualitative methods in their PhDs while academic employers and job vacancies for academic posts indicate a need for researchers with skills in quantitative methods. The findings have important implications for training and supervision of research students and identify a need to narrow the gap between early-career researchers' skills and employers' needs.

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Wiles_Durrant_et_al_Training_needs_paper_final_sept_06_submitted.doc - Author's Original
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Published date: 2009
Organisations: Social Sciences, Southampton Statistical Research Inst.

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 150481
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/150481
ISSN: 1364-5579
PURE UUID: 197250d8-68fb-4ae8-a6f3-3e69ba9d43a0
ORCID for Gabriele Durrant: ORCID iD orcid.org/0009-0001-3436-1512

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Date deposited: 06 May 2010 09:45
Last modified: 18 May 2024 01:36

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Contributors

Author: Rose Wiles
Author: Sofie De Broe
Author: Jackie Powell

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