Free online short course for researchers and practitioners

The Open University Business School and the University of Delhi’s Faculty of Management Studies have developed a free online short course to introduce learners to the concept of empowerment in organisational research.

The ‘Empowering Methodologies in Organisational Research’ course has been developed as part of a project funded by the UK-India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI). It is aimed at doctoral, specialist masters and undergraduate students in management, business and other social science disciplines globally, as well as at practitioners in business, non-profit or public sector organisations interested in learning how to do research in ways that are experienced as more empowering.

The course includes a series of recorded short talks, delivered by project team members, on how to use creative, qualitative methods and develop more empowering ways of doing research. These are OUBS academics Professor Emma Bell and Dr Tim Butcher together with leading experts from three other UK universities – London, Loughborough and Sheffield – as well as Sweden’s Stockholm University.

In addition to online text and recommended readings, the course also features six case studies developed by research students at the University of Delhi. They use research diaries, photographs and video to reflect on the process of engaging with research participants and collecting data. Course participants are encouraged to keep a learning diary and receive a certificate on completion of the course.

The course logo features an image of an ear to emphasise listening with the whole body and ‘being with’ participants as a way for researchers to be fully present and attentive to what they encounter.