Workshop Sessions One

Sentiment Analysis with R - A Hands-on-Workshop for Humanities Researchers

How do texts express emotions and opinions? How can computational methods help us analyse sentiment in literature, social media, and other digital texts?

This introductory workshop will explore sentiment analysis using R and RStudio, a method widely used in Digital Humanities and Computational Social Sciences to analyse emotions, attitudes, and opinions in text.

Designed for staff and students in the arts and humanities, this session will provide a practical introduction to sentiment analysis techniques, covering basic concepts, key R packages, and hands-on exercises with real-world datasets. No prior experience with sentiment analysis is required, but a basic understanding of R and RStudio is recommended.

If you are interested in attending this workshop, please complete this pre-workshop questionnaire here and familiarise yourself with the requirements outlined.

Dr. Giulia Grisot is a lecturer in Digital Humanities, part of the Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media based in the School of Arts, Language and Cultures.

Ethics Workshop: Getting Your Research Through Ethical Review

Ethical review is an important - and, usually, compulsory - part of a PhD research project. But the process can be daunting! This workshop aims to demystify the ethics review process by introducing you to the core components of both substantive and procedural research ethics. By the end of the workshop you should understand why ethical review is important and what ethical research means in the context of the social sciences - and be prepared for submitting your own applications for ethical approval.

Gary Potter is Professor of Critical Criminology at Lancaster University. He has served on ethics committees at four universities and is currently Deputy Chair of the ethics committee for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Lancaster.

Game On: Integrating Gamification into Research Methods for Data Enrichment

This workshop explores applying game-design elements and game principles in research to enhance user experience, increase participation rates, and improve data quality. The workshop will provide a comprehensive understanding of how gamification can be strategically employed across various research contexts, from surveys to interviews and FGD's. The workshop will also address potential challenges and considerations, including the importance of personalization, balancing engagement with cognitive load, ensuring data integrity, and addressing ethical concerns. By the end of this workshop, the participants would be able to design and implement gamified research strategies that not only make data collection more enjoyable for participants but also yield richer, more insightful data, fostering a deeper connection between researchers and their audience.

Abhishek Behl is a Senior Lecturer at Keele Business School, Keele University, UK. He holds a double doctorate and works extensively in gamification and human computer interaction. Abhishek is a fellow of the Spatial Data Lab at Harvard University, USA, and an Affiliate Member of the Gamification and Systems Thinking Lab at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is the president of the Special Interest Group (SIG)- GAME of the Association for Information Systems. His area of research is gamification; digital identity and digital business.

Discourse Analysis with ArtsMethods

This workshop provides an overview of discursive practices in various Arts and Humanities disciplines. Discourse is intended as an effective and reproducing practice that structures and informs not only academic subjects, but both our notions of reality and identity.

Through a few context-specific exercises participants are encouraged to contribute in the thinking of discourse as a practice which is tied up with notions of power, knowledge and truth.

Dr. Letizia Alterno is a Teaching Fellow of Advance HE and an Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Manchester. She has been running her Core Theory and Methodology Programme with Artsmethods since 2016.

Experience the Data Visualisation Observatory

Are you working with complex models and multidimensional data? Perhaps you want to immerse a target group of users in a synthetic controlled environment to observe their behaviour? Or perhaps you just fancy coming along to have a look at this fantastic facility.

Please note the DVO tour is pre-sign up only which you will need to do at the Methods Fair registration desk on the day.

Dr. Qudamah Quboa is a Research Fellow within AMBS, University of Manchester. He works within dynamic multidisciplinary teams, investigating challenging research and innovation problems as well as developing data visualisations for research areas from across the University through short collaborative projects.