New report published on violence towards women

I heard a new report being discussed this morning and I was sort of listening with one ear until I suddenly heard mention of the sample size. Then I started giving it my full attention. The report, which made claims for the amount of violence perpetrated against women was pretty shocking, but as remarkable was that 42, 000 women had been interviewed for the survey. That is a huge sample. I often see published reports where 20 individuals have been interviewed and that isn't unremarkable.

I've suggested to students in the past that sample size is a rough and ready measure of how robust a report's findings might be. Clearly, there are lots of ways that research can be not so good, but when I see exaggerated claims being made for very small scale samples my bad research detector starts going off.

The current research (which looks extremely robust) published by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) reports that roughly half of women in the UK have been victims of physical or sexual abuse. A more detailed breakdown of what the report offers can be found here.

For further details, have a look how the Independent newspaper reported the research from here.

Peer to peer learning

I've always seen it as a sign of self confidence when students say 'I don't know how to do that', whatever the 'that' might be. It takes courage to admit what you lack. The temptation is to bluff it but that isn't really a long term solution. One way forward is through peer to peer learning which is purely a fancy way of saying let's give students the opportunity to learn from each other. 


Many of you do this already but I'm keen to promote it more. One thing I'm trying to increase are the number of teaching sessions which involve students from multiple courses. So what you might find is when you ask me for a one to one teaching session it'll become a one to two instead and include someone else who you may not know. So far these have been really interesting sessions as students have sometimes advised each other on possible solutions to problems without me needing to intervene. And I learn something new in the process.

The best teaching sessions always involve an exchange of ideas, so if you end up taking part in one of these small groups I hope it benefits you.

I think we should start seeing other people

First thing to make clear- it's not you, it's me.

I just think it's all been getting a bit too 'cosy' lately and you know I need my space sometimes. I told you this when we started seeing each other.

So here's my suggestion. Go and see what other blogs are out there. Experiment. Find out what you're interested in, whether it be blogs by social workers, criminologists, politicians or pretty much any other professional role you can think of. Just remember that bloggers are people too and their opinions will be their own. The easiest way to search for blogs is via the Google Blog search option which you can find here.

Just remember I'm not kicking you out. Think of it more as a trial separation. Don't look at me like that though or I'll lose my nerve and beg you to stay and then you'll end up resenting me and...well you know how it goes.

And if you'd like me to recommend some specific bloggers for your subject area email me or just ask if you see me around the library.

Now if you don't mind I think I've got something in my eye...

Journal Articles vs Books: the verdict

Students ask me sometimes if journals are better than books which is rather like asking if rivers are better than mountains; my answer is both have their place, they complement each other and if you're lucky you can experience both simultaneously.

How far you're currently into your course will partly dictate how familiar you are with reading and using journal articles. If you're relatively new to study then you'll probably be using mostly books and if you're currently writing a dissertation then journals should be your main source of reading.

But that somewhat oversimplifies the situation. The reason for this is straightforward-books and journals are both useful throughout your course and need to be used as and when they're required.

Here's an example; if you're a third year currently reading journal articles about a sociological issue related to feminism you need to understand feminist theory. A journal article won't explain that to you in any depth because it'll probably assume you already know enough. So sometimes going back to the books for the underlying theories is absolutely the right thing to do. Similarly, if you're a first year who's looking at journal articles which keep referring to theorists who you've never heard of, then you can't possibly understand what you're reading. In which case find a book chapter on that theorist to help with the background.

So ultimately it comes down to 'do I understand what I'm reading and is it useful for the task in hand?'
I'm currently writing a new Prezi on the benefits of reading so hopefully I'll get the chance to show it to you before too long.

Female Genital Mutilation

Yesterday was an international day of zero tolerance towards Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

I was listening to Woman's Hour and they had an interesting piece on FGM which you can find here. If you want to go straight to it then fast forward 14 minutes in.

The Guardian has also put together a very good page of resources, interviews and information on FGM which is well worth a look. You can find it here.

If you're searching for journal articles on DISCOVER related to this issue remember to try the abbreviated and full three word phrase.
Any other help needed, then just ask.

Critical thinking

Hello.
You may have been 'lucky' enough to see me presenting my talk on critical thinking in the last few days.

I think I've finally got the link to work so you can go through the presentation yourself.
Here it is:

Prezi on critical thinking

There's also a fair few books in the library on the subject.
Try the link below for one of the better ones:

A beginner's guide to critical thinking by Aveyard

I'd be happy to discuss any of the issues associated with thinking critically (even the Latin...), so do contact me if you'd like to know more.

First online workshop coming up on Wednesday.

Hello.

As well as the monthly face-to-face workshops I'm also offering online workshops every few weeks.

The next of these takes place on Wednesday between 2pm and 3pm.

Here's how it'll work; I'll be sat at my computer waiting for you to ask me questions on anything at that time via the blog.

Your questions need to be written into the comments box on the blog post itself on Bedtimes and Deadlines. I will not be answering questions from normal emails during this online workshop - only via the blog itself.
I will write the first comment on the posting so you can see where to carry on from.

If you're a subscriber and you're not used to visiting the blog directly then the link you'll need to follow is this one: http://bedtimesanddeadlines.blogspot.co.uk/

It may all work fine or it may be chaos, but I want to give these things a go and we'll see what happens.