Methods Fair
The Methods Fair is a free, one-day conference taking place at the University of Manchester campus on Thursday 15th May 2025. Organised by Methods@Manchester in collaboration with our NWSSDTP partners at Methods North West, the conference will feature a range of talks, posters, and workshops.
This event provides an excellent opportunity for attendees from the University of Manchester, the wider NWSSDTP community, and beyond, to connect with others engaged in various topics and research methods across the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Wherever you are based, you have the opportunity to present your methods-related work via a lightning talk or poster (see details further down) and there are also a range of workshops you can attend throughout the day.
Research Methods in the Digital Age: Addressing Challenges, Realising Opportunities
As we witness rapid advancements in technology and the integration of digital tools into every aspect of our lives, it is crucial to examine how these changes impact various elements of our research practices.
Researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences must understand how to adapt to this evolving digital landscape, as well as the practical and ethical challenges it presents. For instance, how do these advancements affect our understanding of what constitutes data, how we access it, the questions we pose, the tools and techniques we employ, and our relationships with the topics, people or phenomena we seek to understand?
This conference aims to engage with a range of issues pertinent to researchers. We hope to stimulate reflections on how traditional Humanities and Social Science research methods and approaches are, or should be, evolving in response to the rapid digitalisation of many aspects of our lives.
For those contributing lightning talks or posters to the Fair, we encourage a focus on the issues, topics, and questions you are currently grappling with. The Fair will also engage with the following issues and questions:
- Key societal challenges increasingly recognise the value of interdisciplinary approaches. What are the barriers and challenges for Social Science and Humanities researchers engaging in interdisciplinary projects?
- With the vast expansion of data sources relevant to researchers, how can we respond thoughtfully and insightfully?
- Digital methods and tools are creating opportunities for innovation. Are we equipped to adapt and respond effectively?
- How do we ensure we are making ethical choices, and how can we stay ahead when technology is developing so rapidly?
Draft programme*
Morning sessions
- 9.15-9.40am: Registration (with coffee & pastries)
- 9.45am: Welcome - Prof Emma Banister, Director of Methods@Manchester
- 9.50am: Keynote – Prof Julia Handl, Professor of Decision Sciences at AMBS: Good-bye humans, welcome AI scientists?
- 10.30am: Lightning Talks
- 12.00 -1.30pm: Lunch & poster session, followed by choice of workshops (see below - please note an optional DVO session also runs during lunch)
Workshops (afternoon sessions)
*Please note this is a draft programme and is subject to change
Opportunities to Participate
The fair is designed to offer postgraduates and researchers at various stages of their career the opportunity to actively participate in the fair.
There are a number of different ways in which you can engage with the conference. Of course, you can simply attend the talks, presentations and workshops (and we will circulate information about attendance in due course). However, we always think it’s fun to contribute something, providing a jumping off point for all those spontaneous discussions, and potential collaborations.
We offer two different opportunities for you to submit your work to the conference:
Lightning Talks
Each presenter will have just five minutes to present their work. Within this time-frame, there is no prescribed structure or content requirements. For example you might want to talk about a particular element of your research design, a methodology that interests you, a methodological issue or research approach challenge that you are facing or have overcome.
Your precise focus is up to you. You might consider what will prompt the most discussion or feedback from the audience.
Lightning talks are appropriate for Humanities and Social Science researchers at any stage of your research project and will be organised into wider themes and are likely to be scheduled in the morning of the conference.
Poster presentation
During the Fair there will be an extended lunch and poster session when poster presenters should be available to discuss their posters and interact with other conference attendees. Posters can be individual or a combined effort – perhaps there are a few of you working on related projects, or using a particular method in contrasting ways?
Again, as with the lightning talks, posters can focus on any aspect of social science research methods that interests you or will be useful for you to discuss with others and poster submission is open to those at early stages of their researcher or those who are more established.
How do you submit?
In order to present a lightning talk or poster you will be asked to submit a talk abstract or poster overview (max 250 words). These should be submitted by midnight Sunday 30 March but we encourage you to submit these earlier if possible. By submitting these abstracts/overviews you are agreeing to these appearing in the Methods Fair programme should they be accepted for the fair.
Please submit using the following form:
Methods@Manchester will cover the costs of printing accepted posters as long as we receive the final version of your poster as a PDF by 9am Thursday 24th April.
What's next?
It would be great for as many of you as possible to present your work. However, you can still be an active participant by attending the talks, workshops, contributing questions and discussion points - just ensure that you register below!
In addition, if you would like to help ensure the day runs smoothly, we will be seeking University of Manchester PGR volunteers to help out during the day.
If you are potentially interested in lending a hand, please contact methods@manchester.ac.uk for more information. There are a range of opportunities available which include chairing lightning talk sessions and also other more general assistance. Volunteering will not prevent you participating fully in the day itself!
We will provide all volunteers with gift vouchers as a thank you.