PS9000 Engaging with Society: Stakeholders, Outreach and Impact Emneplan

This course will give candidates an advanced introduction to the changing role that social science is playing in society, and which societal stakeholders are playing in the social sciences. It covers issues of new expectations and requirements of research to engage with society, and how they may reflect more general societal transformations. These expectations and requirements concern achieving societal impact, bringing onboard various groups of stakeholders and end-users, disseminating research findings to a wide range of and increasingly diverse set of audiences, reaching out to vulnerable groups, and of incorporating non-researchers into the processes of planning, doing and publishing social science research.

Theoretically, the course considers the transition from ‘Mode 1’ to ‘Mode 2’ of knowledge production, of the knowledge economy, and the theoretical underpinnings of ‘evidence-based research’, including the realist approach (Pawson/Tilley). Specific topics will vary between courses according the needs of the PhD students.

The course is a requirement for all candidates in the PhD programme in Social Sciences, OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University. The candidates are encouraged to complete the course early in their studies.

No prerequisites.

Knowledge

The candidate:

• Has advanced knowledge about major trends in social science’s relations to the wider society
• Has extensive knowledge about specific topics that have come to dominate the academic field such as the importance of outreach, user-involvement, stakeholders in research and knowledge translation, knowledge hierarchies, citizen science, science skepticism/politization of science, open science, and responsible research and innovation
• Has advanced knowledge about theories explaining current trends in the relations between research, universities and society

Skills

The candidate:

• Can discuss his or her own research in terms of possible societal impact and is able to set up a concrete plan outlining the pathway to impact
• Can discuss his or her project in terms of strategies to involve ordinary citizens in fieldwork or end-users in the design, implementation and dissemination of the research

General competence

The candidate:

• Will be able to critically reflect upon the drivers of recent trends that increasingly obliterate the borders between the field of science and surrounding fields of politics and practice, assessing the advantages and pitfalls of these developments
• Will have improved understanding of their own role as researchers vis-à-vis various stakeholder groups such as agencies commissioning research, professional associations, user associations and the general public

Teaching will take the form of lectures and seminar discussions. Concrete examples, preferably from candidates’ own PhD projects, will be used as a basis for discussing different perspectives and aspects of the course’s content.

The course is organized as a three-day seminar. Active participation is necessary to adequately understand the course material and themes. Candidates will work with practical cases of how their own doctoral research relates to course themes, for example how their research outcomes may lead to impact (i.e. contribute to change in the field), how one may involve users or stakeholders in research activities or how to adopt an ‘open science’ approach. Participation is mandatory and expected in all days of teaching.Only a minor absence can be accepted in certain circumstances after application. In these cases, lack of participation can be substituted with alternative arrangements such as active reading of the relevant syllabus literature.

This course covers the state of the art of in technology and research methods within human-computer interaction and available computer systems.

No formal requirements over and above the admission requirements.

A student who has completed this course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

On successful completion of this course the student has:

• advanced knowledge of multimodal user interfaces
• advanced knowledge of input and output technologies

Skills

On successful completion of this course the student can:

• analyse problems and issues in interactions related to context, such as accessibility in public spaces, mobility problems, and the user's affective state
• use knowledge of interaction technology to address new problems in universal design of ICT
• independently use appropriate methods of user centred interaction design and evaluation; both heuristic and automatic, in an independent manner
• analyse and critically deal with the results from relevant research literature, apply these to structure and formulate scientific arguments, and assess the suitability of published results on new problems and issues
• carry out independent, limited research or development projects under supervision and in accordance with applicable ethical standards
• present scientific work orally
• debate and conduct scientific discussions

General competence

On successful completion of this course the student can:

• apply knowledge and skills in interaction technology on new problems and issues for carrying out advanced facilitation tasks and projects
• communicate scientific problems, analysis and conclusions in the field to both specialists and the general public
• contribute to original thinking and innovation processes

- This course is organized as a series of lectures and seminars where students present and discuss with opponents research articles that cover core concepts and topics in the literature.

- Students work alone or in groups on two projects under supervision.