Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk through the years
RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT
In line with the mission of Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, which aims to promote and advance scientific research, practice, and its impact on micro, messo, and macro levels by professional social workers in South Africa and beyond, we provide links to relevant, and in some instances, real-time cutting-edge opportunities for the development of research knowledge and skills. These opportunities may be of significance to the journal's readership, authors, and reviewers, capacitating them in developing, writing, and reviewing scientifically sound manuscripts.
Below is a list of training and development opportunities, including webinars, conference calls, articles, newsletters, and other relevant texts.
(If you are aware of any training or articles that could benefit researchers, please forward them to the Managing Editor: socialwork@sun.ac.za)
WEBINAR: PROGRESS ON THE POPIA COMPLIANCE FRAMEWORK FOR RESEARCHERS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS
The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) has been diligently working on developing a Code of Conduct for Research in compliance with Chapter 7 of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The initial draft of this Code was submitted to the Information Regulator in April 2023. Although the Code was not approved, the feedback received primarily focused on procedural and representational issues, rather than its content.
Following careful review and consultation, ASSAf decided to transition the Code into a voluntary POPIA Compliance Framework for Research, aimed at guiding researchers and research institutions in adhering to POPIA requirements. This Framework serves as a practical, best-practice guide for researchers and institutions, promoting data protection and privacy in research.
The objective of this forum is to provide an update on the progress of this Framework and encourage stakeholder engagement. Participants will have an opportunity to review its content, share insights, and offer feedback on the development of the POPIA Compliance Framework for Research.
Monday, 11 November, 10:00-12:00
WEBINAR: TYPES OF ARTICLES TO WRITE; AND CHOOSING BETWEEN LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS
This session promises to be engaging and valuable, particularly for researchers, recent graduates and current postgraduate students. It will focus on non-empirical approaches to article writing, offering exposure to diverse publication strategies.
Wednesday, 09 October, 13:00 - 15:00
Download the poster for more details
For more information please contact: Mzukisi.xweso@mandela.ac.za
WORKSHOP: GET PUBLISHED: MASTER THE ART OF PAPER SUBMISSION
This workshop will provide participants within the research environment with practical guidelines for successful writing.
You'll arrive at this workshop with just a rough draft and leave with a polished paper ready for submission.
20-24 January 2025
Please download poster for more details
WEBINAR: HOW TO DEVELOP RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO THEORY
Resilient & Prof Ove Skarpenes
Researchers collect and analyze data, and the results and findings from their research often come to inform policy and practice. But how can research findings also inform and advance our theories and ways of understanding? At this seminar, professor Ove Skarpenes (UiA), will talk about how researchers can theorize their research findings and contribute to the advancement of theoretical knowledge within their discipline.
Tuesday, 15 October
See link for more details and to register.
WORKSHOP: WHAT EVERY NEW REVIEWER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PEER REVIEW
South African Journal of Science
A workshop hosted by the South African Journal of Science aimed at early career researchers with little or no experience in peer reviewing journal articles.
Monday, 9 September, 10:00-12:00.
Click here to register
WORKSHOP: WRITING A TIGHT METHODOLOGY
Presented by: Prof Adrian van Breda
The confidence readers have in the quality of your research rests primarily on the rigour of your methodology. Your theory and literature might be brilliant, your findings might be ground-breaking, and your study implications might be a game changer. But if your methodology has holes, your work cannot be taken seriously.
The presenter will walk you through key decisions you must make as you write up your methodology for a journal article (not a thesis). He’ll provide a reliable and robust ‘recipe’ for how to do this, focusing on both qualitative and quantitative research.
Thursday, 29 August, 11:00 - 12:30
Wednesday, 4 Spetember, 14:00 – 15:30
Monday, 9 September, 17:00 – 18:30
RSVP on the form at least 24 hours before the workshop to obtain the Zoom link:
https://forms.gle/wBe3VAsasfS5F3tq8
WEBINAR: A BRIEF EXAMPLE OF HOW TO USE ZOTERO REFERENCE MANAGEMENT AND THE INTEGRATION WITH GOOGLE SCHOLAR
The webinar will cover:
- Introduction to Zotero Reference Management
- How to use Zotero effectively
- Integrating Zotero with Google Scholar for seamless research management
This session promises to be highly practical and beneficial for postgraduate students and academics who are looking to enhance their research efficiency.
Wednesday, 14 August, 12:00 – 14:30.
For more information please contact: Mzukisi.xweso@mandela.ac.za
BLOG: THINK AND CHECK BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE
Stellenbosch University Library and Information Services
One of the most frequent questions that academic librarians get is “Is this a predatory journal?” With the advent of the Information Age and the internet, the number of journals in which you can publish in has skyrocketed, with some estimates putting it well past 30 000.
Therefore, it is critical that researchers choose the most suitable journals to publish their research. But, as mentioned above, with so many out there and many of them predatory, how do you choose? “Think. Check. Submit.” is a collaborative initiative that provides a simple checklist researchers can use to assess the credentials of a journal or publisher.
Click here to see the blog
Click here to view the checklist
Click here to view the video
WORKSHOP: WRITING WITH INTEGRITY
South African Journal of Science
A writing workshop with a focus on research integrity, hosted by the South African Journal of Science and aimed at postgraduate students and early career researchers with little or no experience in writing and publishing journal articles.
Wednesday, 5 June. 09:00 – 15:00
Click here to register
WEBINAR: ASASWEI JOURNAL CLUB – WRITING FOR PUBLICATION
Aims and objectives of the Journal Club:
- To build the capacity of social work academics, particularly early career academics.
- To serve as a sharing, learning, and mentorship platform for emerging social work scholars with established scholars.
- To showcase best practice and extinguished research outputs by experienced, accomplished and recognised social work academics and researchers.
Next topic: Writing for publication – selecting the appropriate Journal to submit a manuscript; handling journal rejection.
Tuesday, 28 May, 13:00 – 15:00.
Please use this link to register.
Please contact Mzukisi Xweso for more information: Mzukisi.xweso@mandela.ac.za
PODCASTS: RESEARCH INTEGRITY PODCASTS
Research integrity refers to all of the factors that underpin good research practice and promote trust and confidence in the research process. This site offers a listing of freely available podcasts on research integrity and related topics. Some are series and others are individual episodes.
Click here to access the list of podcasts.
NEWSLETTER: COLLECT DATA WITH ONLINE METHODS AND DIGITAL TOOLS
Sage Research Methods Community
In the dynamic landscape of data collection, the digital realm offers boundless opportunities and complexities. Join us as we embark on a quest to unravel the intricacies of online data collection, navigating ethical nuances, and embracing emerging approaches across diverse fields and disciplines.
Click here to read more
WEBINAR: DECOLONISED RESEARCH CULTURE AND PRACTICE
University curricula across the UK are being reviewed to ensure they are inclusive and encompass knowledge systems outside of typical western understanding, and which have up to now not always been included.
To solve the urgent challenges which research is exploring, a diversity of people and ideas are needed, and too often organisations have played an unintended part in putting up barriers to inclusive research. Some are using their influence to remove those barriers.
A decolonising research methodology is an approach that is used to challenge research methods that may not take account of local knowledge and experiences of marginalised groups.
This webinar seeks to extend the debate into research and research methodologies to ask how can a decolonised research culture improve research integrity and what are the ethical implications?
17 April, 10:00 – 11:00 GMT
Click here to register for the webinar
WEBINAR: HOW CURATED, ENRICHED AND CONNECTED DATA ENHANCE RESEARCH INSIGHTS
This webinar will explore how Scopus data can be used to inform a generative AI solution to support researchers. We will cover topics such as content selection, bias minimization, content integrity, quality and accuracy assurance, and Scopus content used to train AI.
The webinar will take place on 26 March. Please click on the selected time slot to register:
Session 1 - 09:00 GMT (11:00 GMT+2)
Session 2 - 16:00 GMT (18:00 GMT+2)
Session 3 - 07:00 GMT (09:00 GMT+2)
WORKSHOP: SELECTING A JOURNAL
Presented by: Prof Adrian van Breda
Finding a journal suitable for your work is an important and daunting task. It can be the difference between your work being widely read and cited, and your work falling into a bottomless hole. Selecting a journal is high stakes!
In this workshop, Adrian will help you navigate the challenges of selecting suitable journals for your work, according to 10 criteria. There are few rights and wrongs – selecting a journal requires multiple decisions that give your work the best chance of being read and used by your peers.
The workshop will take place on the following dates and South African (GMT+2) times:
Wednesday 6 March, 14:00-15:30
Thursday 14 March, 11:00-12:30
Monday 18 March, 17:00-18:30
Click here to register for the workshop
GUIDE: PEER REVIEW SURVIVAL SKILLS
What happens when you submit an academic paper to a journal? What do the editors do? And most importantly, what happens during the peer review process?
The aim of this “Peer review survival skills” is to help you understand the post-submission journey of a paper. This practical guide discusses editors’ primary concerns during initial manuscript review, the choices they make, and the stages of peer review at a scholarly journal. This knowledge, when preparing an article for submission, may help authors to be successful when they submit a paper.
Click here to download the guide.
WEBINAR: RESEARCH INTEGRITY AND ETHICS SERIES: FRAUD, FAKE PAPERS, AND RETRACTIONS
The Division of Research Development
Although most researchers are committed to doing good and relevant research, instances of fraud, fake papers and retraction are regularly featured in the media. It’s appropriate that these phenomena are discussed publicly and that awareness of this dark side of academia increases. It’s, however, essential that scholars and other stakeholders get their act together and improve the way these problems are detected, repaired and – most importantly - prevented. The lecture will explore these topics and reflect on the impact of generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT) on research and research integrity.
Monday, 12 February 2024, 12:30 – 14:00
WEBINAR: SOCIAL MEDIA AND ETHICS
Research using social media data presents several ethical issues that researchers must navigate to ensure the responsible and respectful use of this data. Some of the primary ethical issues in research using social media includes privacy and informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, data ownership and terms of use, ethical use of algorithms and AI, sensitive topics and vulnerable populations, consent and minors, deception and online identity, unintended consequences, and transparency and reproducibility
This webinar discusses these ethical concerns that require a combination of thoughtful consideration, adherence to research guidelines, and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including social media platforms and users.
Wednesday 21st February; 10:00 - 11:00 GMT.
WEBINAR: REMOVING BARRIERS THAT HINDER GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE AND COLLABORATION.
InterAcademy Partnership (IAP)
The scientific community faces significant regulatory, financial, cultural, and infrastructural barriers that impede global scientific collaboration. This webinar provides an opportunity to not only address and explore solutions to these challenges, but also emphasize the critical role of international scientific exchange in advancing science and in addressing global challenges such as climate change, public health crises, sustainable development, and digital security.
Tuesday 19 March; 12:00 noon - 1:30 PM UTC/GMT; 8:00 - 9:30 AM EST
ARTICLE: LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS AND ACADEMIC WRITING
South African Journal of Science
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have changed the world forever. Researchers and academic journals, among others, need immediate yet thoughtful guidelines for using LLMs and AI in the scientific process.
The author divides LLM usage in the academic writing process into tiers of use and offers practical guidance to cautiously and ethically embrace the benefits of this significant new tool.
