Why didn’t you just …. A workshop for early to mid-career researchers

Using a theatre and cabaret format, this workshop offers a supportive, non-judgmental environment for early to mid-career researchers to share experiences and learn from one another, and co-produce a song based on their experiences. Intended outcomes: • Network with researchers of similar grades • Share experiences and learn from one another • Know how to access peer support, mentorship, financial and methodological resources • Participants will contribute to rewriting the lyrics to a piece from a famous musical based on their experiences • Contribute to healthy systems (of peer support and mentorship) and healthy people (supported and engaged) for better primary care research 

We will use Theatre-in Education style (related to drama-based pedagogy) to deliver the workshop. Participatory arts-based approaches have been used in health research as a way of engagement with the public, co-creation and co-production. This method of research engagement and dissemination have been promoted by NIHR and Wellcome to make outputs more accessible and engaging. Theatre can evoke emotions and help participants identify with the characters and problems presented and might engage more fully in the discussion. The workshop will start with introductions and sketches for the first 10 minutes. The participants will have 30 minutes to discuss experiences and contribute to a “quick and dirty” thematic analysis. Themes might include: methods support, career progression, housekeeping issues and barriers to effective working. While some of us prepare the lyrics, we will present support and resources available to delegates from representatives including Becci Morris (10 minutes).  At the end, participants are invited to listen to or sing along to a showtune with revised lyrics that they have co-produced (10 minutes).

The workshop will begin with a few sketches performed by RM and SD. The sketches will give some examples of common barriers and frustrations experienced by many early career researchers.  The sketches are a light-hearted way to set the context and to stimulate reflection and discussions among the attendees. In their round tables, attendees are open to discuss their experiences with others. This may be an opportunity for attendees to learn from one another as they share experiences and top tips to avoid pitfalls and improve the experience of research.  Using post-it notes, participants will be invited to post some of these experiences and tips along the lines of “Why didn’t you just …”. These notes will be posted on a board for workshop presenters to conduct a real-time thematic analysis and form the lyrics to a song.

This workshop is aimed at early to mid-career researchers from any discipline, from both clinical or non-clinical backgrounds . More senior academics also welcome to share experiences and offer advice.