Review: Information Science Scotland advanced training for PhD students April 2016 #InfoSciScot

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Hazel Hall

On 12th and 13th April we hosted an ESRC-funded training event for doctoral students in Information Science at Edinburgh Napier’s Sighthill campus. There were 23 participants in total, representing the four partner institutions of the Information Science Pathway of the Doctoral Training Centre of the Scottish Graduate School of Science. In addition, we welcomed two visiting Greek academics to the gathering: Dr Petros Kostagiolas and Dr Christina Banou, both from the Ionian University of Corfu. Delivered over two days, the training comprised a mix of lectures and exercises with plenty of time for the students to renew friendships and make new connections, including a small drinks reception on the first evening. Continue reading →

New funding for information literacy project

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Hazel Hall

The Centre for Social Informatics has won funding to investigate levels of digital and information literacy within Scotland’s Community Council system in a project entitled Information Literacy for Democratic Engagement (IL-DEM). The award has been granted by the CILIP Information Literacy Group.

Peter Cruickshank, Dr Bruce Ryan and I will explore how community councillors develop the skills required to inform and engage with the citizens that they represent, and how libraries support this work. It will build on two established research streams within the Centre for Social Informatics: Cruickshank and Ryan’s work on digital engagement in local democracy (such as our recent DigiCC workshops), and my work with Christine Irving on information literacy and life-long learning. It will also build on our group’s track record in library and information science research. Continue reading →

Call for participation at iDocQ 6, Glasgow, 23 June 2016 (#iDocQ2016)

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Hazel Hall

iDocQ banner Students working towards research degrees in Information Science and related subjects are invited to register for the 6th Information Science Doctoral Colloquium – iDocQ 6 – hosted by the Information Science Pathway of the ESRC Scottish Graduate School of Social Science Doctoral Training Centre (SGSSS DTC) on Thursday 23rd June at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. The event is suitable for doctoral students at all stages of their studies. Continue reading →

Information Science Scotland: advanced training for PhD students April 2016

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Hazel Hall

#InfoSciScot

Information Science Scotland, the partnership of the four Scottish universities that support research students within the ESRC Scottish Graduate School of Social Science Information Science Pathway (Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Strathclyde, and Robert Gordon), is hosting a two-day training event on April 12th and 13th 2016. The venue is the Sighthill campus of Edinburgh Napier University (room 5.B.14), which has good transport links to the rest of the city by tram, bus and train. Continue reading →

Invited keynote presentation at #QQML 2016

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Hazel Hall

I have recently accepted an invitation to give the closing keynote paper at the 8th International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML 2016) on Friday 27th May at Senate House, London.

The main theme of my presentation, entitled What happens next? Strategies for building and assessing the long-term impact of research projects, will be the impact of research and its measurement. Continue reading →

Frances Ryan performs at Bright Club Edinburgh

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Hazel Hall

Update 29th February 2016: a video of Frances’ excellent performance is now available on YouTube. Frances also writes about the experience of presenting her research in stand-up format on her blog Just a PhD.

Good luck to Centre for Social Informatics PhD student Frances Ryan, who is performing tonight at The Stand Comedy Club as part of a Bright Club Edinburgh show. Continue reading →

Digital engagement report published #digiCC

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Hazel Hall

The Centre for Social Informatics has just published a report on digital engagement for community councils and registered tenant organisations. The report presents findings from the Scottish Government sponsored workshops led in October and November 2015 by my research centre colleagues Peter Cruickshank and Dr Bruce Ryan. In addition, the report includes links to all the workshop presentation and outputs (such as videos, slides and photographs), and to further reading and resources. Continue reading →

An award-winning trip to #IDIMC 2016

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Hazel Hall

2016 got off to a terrific start for the Centre for Social Informatics with three award-winning ‘performances’ at the 2nd International Data and Information Management Conference (IDIMC), hosted by the Centre for Information Management at Loughborough University on 12th and 13th January.

Following two intensive days of invited papers, contributed papers, workshops, PhD student presentations (delivered as 5 minute madness), and posters (not to mention all the chat between sessions in the breaks and at the conference dinner) we returned to Edinburgh clutching the prizes for: Continue reading →