Training

Registration for our Autumn Term 2023 training programme will open on Thursday 21st September 2023.
The LISS DTP offers a rich and varied ‘menu’ of training and development opportunities, delivered through its Training Programme and through events organised by the DTP and its students. You should also take advantage of the many opportunities provided by other organisations: both these and LISS DTP events are advertised on our Events page.
On this page you will find information and guidance on the training we offer, such as reading groups led by students and/or academics and short courses, spanning areas such as:
- Social theory & epistemology
- Quantitative methods
- Qualitative methods
- Digital methods & archival research
- Knowledge transfer & co-generation methodologies
LISS DTP Core and Advanced Methods in Social Sciences
LISS DTP Writing Skills Programme
Other Training Resources
Training FAQ
LISS Core and Advanced Methods in Social Sciences
Core Training
It is recommended that all first year doctoral students affiliated with LISS DTP undertake any core research methods training listed below that they have not covered during their Masters degrees.
LISS001 Research Design & Project Evaluation
LISS002 Reviewing the Literature
LISS003 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
LISS004 Introduction to Qualitative Research
LISS005 Introduction to Quantitative Research
LISS006 Introduction to Mixed Methods Research
Advanced Training
The advanced methods programme is made up of short courses, workshops, seminars and reading groups led by researchers from across our three partner institutions and external experts. It’s organised into the following platforms: Knowledge Exchange & Co-generation, Digital & Archival Research Methods, Social Theory & Epistemology, Advanced Qualitative Methods and Advanced Quantitative Methods. We are constantly developing new courses, so please check this page regularly for new additions. Please scroll down and click on a term to view available courses and outlines.
LISS Core and Advanced Methods Courses available to book via SkillsForge
Autumn term courses
LISS001 Research Design & Project Evaluation
LISS001B Research Ethics Your Doctoral Project King’s Students only
LISS002 Reviewing the Literature
LISS003 Philosophy of Social Science
LISS213H Feminist Research Methods
LISS235 Health Ethnography Reading Group (course outline coming soon)
LISS238 Social Network Analysis
LISS336 Security, Ethnography & Discourse
Spring term courses
LISS004 Introduction to Qualitative Research
LISS006 Introduction to Mixed Methods Research
LISS256 Introduction to R for Social Science
LISS289N Drawing Methods for Researchers
LISS293 Designing a Spoken Corpus: Data Collection and Transcription
LISS298 Participatory Research Methods
LISS340 Performativity as/of Method
LISS205N Marxist Margins: Primitive Accumulation (Cancelled in Spring 2023)
LISS375 Transnationalism: The Challenge of Flow of Persons and Ideas *NEWLY ADDED*
Summer term courses
LISS004 Introduction to Qualitative Research
LISS005 Introduction to Quantitative Research
LISS006 Introduction to Mixed Methods Research
LISS217 Biographical Methods in Transdisciplinary Perspective
LISS235 Ethnography in Health Research – Reading Group
LISS242 Data Management & Manipulation
LISS324 How to Produce an Effective Podcast
LISS373 Introduction to Programming using Python
LISS376 Finding Hidden Patterns in your Data: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Data Visualisation
LISS343H The Colonial Question through Theory and Method
LISS354 Preparing Effectively for your PhD Viva
LISS360 Developing Focus Groups in Social Science Research
LISS234 Adapting Research Methods to Engage with the Public Sector: Lesson from Covid-19
LISS237A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Analysis 1
LISS237B Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Analysis 2
LISS370 Social & Ethical Implications of AI, Big Data & Algorithms
LISS362 Introduction to Systematic Reviews
LISS361 Qualitative Digital Diaries
LISS233 Turning research failure into finding – what happens when your chosen method doesn’t work?
LISS371 Writing for The Conversation and Other Media Outlets
LISS Writing Skills
We offer a bespoke writing skills programme for LISS researchers featuring specialised workshops, writing retreats and opportunities for individualised support and feedback from our writing professionals .
Autumn term 2023 registration will open on Thursday 21st September 2023.
LISS Writing Skills Courses available to book via SkillsForge: click to log in and register
Questions? Visit our Training FAQ here: Frequently Asked Questions – LISS DTP (liss-dtp.ac.uk)
Autumn term courses (please follow the links for the course description)
- LISS401 Reading Like a Writer
- LISS402 Stylish Academic Writing
- LISS403 Writing for Visual Thinkers
- LISS406 Writing Clinic, All PhD Years
- LISS407 Writing Clinic, All PhD Years
Spring term courses (please follow the links for the course description)
- LISS408 Weekly Writing Group (Year 2 and Year 3)
- LISS409 Creating a Narrative through your Literature Review
- LISS410 Finding Your Voice
- LISS411 Making the Most of Writing Time
- LISS412 The Art and Craft of Editing
- LISS413 Writing Clinic, Year 1 and Year 2
- LISS414 Writing Clinic, Year 3 only
Imperial Business School Research Methods
Imperial College Business School has made modules on its Masters in Research (MRes) Programme available to all LISS DTP students on an audit basis. You may be particularly interested in the Research Design and Qualitative Methods modules. For further information about available modules, please see the following page: The Business School Master’s in Research (MRes)
If you would like to register, please contact Nicola Hann (n.hann@imperial.ac.uk) Senior Programme Manager, Doctoral Programme at Imperial College. Please note that attendance is subject to the agreement of the module leader.
NOTE: Some modules may have prerequisites (for example, the Research Design module requires knowledge of Stata).
Impact by Design – The Policy Institute, KCL
The Policy Institute at King’s College offers an online course, ‘Impact by Design’, which is designed to help people achieve impact with their research.
The course consists of two parts and is available to all LISS students via Keats. You will need to login with your k number.
Note: This is a self-guided online course that you can enrol on at any time.
How to Register
Please visit Impact by Design web page for full details.

ESRC NCRM Training
LISS DTP students can access the extensive range of short courses run by the ESRC’s National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM). NCRM courses are available to LISS DTP students at a reduced rate of around £30; the course fee can be funded through the Research Training Support Grant.

Training Offered by other DTPs
Most events organised by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership – (a Doctoral Training Partnership) – are also open to LISS DTP students.
The following DTPs are in the London area:
- Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership
- The South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS) Doctoral Training Partnership
- UCL, Bloomsbury and East London Doctoral Training Partnership
Additional useful information can be found on the ESRC Research Skills and Resources page.