Welcome (back) to Derby! We hope your summer has been relaxing and/or productive.
Welcome (back) to Derby! We hope your summer has been relaxing and/or productive. Here is a brief introduction to us:
I am Cate Starr, PGR Chair and your representative at the Union. My research focuses on gender and sexualities. I am also an associate lecturer for psychology. If you went to your induction, I popped my head in to introduce myself #PsychologyGeek. c.starr2@derby.ac.uk
I am Bradley Davis, PGR student and Societies Council Chair. My research considers how the number of dimensions in which multi-dimensional data is visualised affects a user's ability to interpret that data under high-pressure circumstances #IDontLikeHashtags. b.davis@derby.ac.uk
We often see that postgraduate students have low engagement with societies during their time at Derby. We have written this article to highlight some of the things that being part of a society can do for you on your academic journey and some of the benefits that come with it.
Community
Every year the University conducts the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES), which is a survey to find out what YOU want. This survey has consistently shown that postgraduate students wish to feel part of an academic community. The University has tried to accommodate this, but it's tough when a lot of postgraduate students don’t engage with provisions.
Since being at the University, we, have both been members of societies and found this a beneficial way to meet new people, try new things and learn more about the Union. Remember, you are part of the Union in the same way as an undergraduate student and entitled to all the same resources.
What if you don’t find a society that suits your needs? You only need to have 10 people to commit to join a society to create one. Take a look at the list of available societies on the Union website and see what you fancy.
Feedback Loops
During our PGR journey, many of us take on teaching responsibilities. The University provides methods of gaining feedback through the mid-module and end-of-module feedback forms. While these offer a great method of feedback, the timing of their return means that you may not be able to implement changes to your teaching to benefit the current cohort. As you may not get the opportunity to teach the module again, getting direct and instant feedback from your relevant academic society may allow you to change your delivery method to best benefit your students. The better feedback that you gain from this on the end-of-module feedback forms may then open further doors, giving you the opportunity to teach again in another semester.
In addition, you can speak with other PhD students in a more relaxed environment and get feedback on your own research. Often other students, including undergraduates, have insights and questions that are beneficial to your work.
It wasn’t until we had to explain our research to undergraduates that we realised the areas we needed to strengthen our answers for in preparation for our viva’s.
Participant Access
Not everyone has controversial research like Cate’s #BDSM, so you can always ask students to participate in your research if it’s appropriate. Societies are a great way to gain access to students who may be interested, particularly if they are in your subject area. Societies often have membership counts over 30, so a small announcement or email from the society committee to their members could net you a few participants that you may not otherwise have gotten.
Case Study
A few years ago, a friend of Brad’s was conducting his PhD study in virtual reality. He was aiming to get 40 participants from a variety of backgrounds to ensure that there was no gender or race bias. In this case, the main issue with finding participants was that undergraduate study was mostly remote at the time with the research itself being conducted on campus during the summer break. Therefore, Brad put out a message to the eSports society stating that participants were needed. Upon the completion of the research, Brad was informed that the communication with the eSports society had garnered approximately 15 participants.
See you soon!
Hopefully, you found this useful, and we get to see you around socially. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to message us either about societies or feedback on your PGR experience.