Short course Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies (I): Foundations and Data Analysis 2023
Information
Period
11 September 2023 - 12 January 2024Language
EnglishFormat
Distance learningRegistration
Registration deadline
4 September 2023Fees:
1200.- CHF
Contribution to the SDGs
Objectives
- Learn how to formulate a research question
- Expand your theoretical horizons in Translation and Interpreting studies
- Understand the role of values and ethical implications in scientific inquiry
- Become familiar with qualitative and mixed methods in empirical research
Audience
Learning outcomes
- Learn how to formulate a research question
- Evaluate Translation and Interpreting studies as rapidly growing interdisciplines and map the main trends
- Get an overview of the main methods used in qualitative research (e.g., case studies, interviews, observation)
- Become familiar with the various ways of analysing and interpreting qualitative data
- Assess the potential of mixed – qualitative/quantitative – methods
- Become familiar with different types of survey research
- Learn to understand and to overcome the ethics challenges of research
Programme
The course is composed of five activities (approximately 120 hours, including all individual work).
- Module 1 - Formulating Research Questions
- Module 2 - Theoretical Introduction: Mapping Translation and Interpreting studies and Interdisciplinarity
- Module 3 - Qualitative Methods
- Module 4 - Mixed Methods
- Module 5 - Research Ethics
Director(s)
Prof. Pierrette BOUILLON, Prof. Annarita FELICI and Prof. Lucía RUIZ ROSENDO, Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (FTI), University of Geneva
Coordinator(s)
ReMeTIS 1 focuses on qualitative and mixed methods, and is designed to help you think about your research question, literature review and ethics application. The course consists of individual and collaborative assignments that will provide you with a sound methodological basis for launching your research projects. Learn how to be a successful researcher from the very beginning of your career by developing your methodological and practical skills in a dynamic virtual environment!
Date(s)
Description
Online learning can be dehumanizing, which is why this first module is designed to bring the human element back into online interactions.
During this first week, you will get to know your peers and teachers. You will become familiar with your new virtual learning environment, and you will learn how to effectively introduce yourself in a few sentences.
Date(s)
Description
In this module, you will learn how to formulate and present clear and precise research questions.
Date(s)
Description
In the first part of this module, you will develop your theoretical knowledge of the field. You will understand the historical development of the field and learn to analyse existing studies and your doctoral project in order to identify which elements fall under the categories of “process”, “product”, “participant” and “context”.
In the second part, you will learn to understand the challenges of interdisciplinarity and develop solutions appropriate to your own research project.
Date(s)
Description
This module will help you identify appropriate methods to collect, process and interpret qualitative data. You will gain an understanding of the main methods used in qualitative research and learn how to define or delimit fieldwork, a group of participants or a corpus of archival documents. You will discover how to categorise or code data using qualitative software. Finally, you will learn about the various methods of analysing and interpreting qualitative data.
Date(s)
Description
This module is designed to help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of purely qualitative or purely quantitative methods, and to assess the potential of mixed – qualitative/quantitative – methods approaches. It will give you the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the theoretical foundations, methodological designs and practical issues of mixed-methods approaches.
Date(s)
Description
This module is designed to provide you with an overview of ethics guidelines for scientific inquiry and an understanding of the ethical dimension of different parts of the research process: research design, relationships with participants, data collection, analysis and storage, as well as publication of your research results. You will develop your ability to understand the ethical challenges of your own research and reflect on strategies for overcoming them.
Pedagogical method
Participants will follow the entire course via an online platform, including access to reading materials, individual feedback, discussion threads and plenary lectures. They will be given sufficient time to prepare their assignments and organise their work according to their individual schedules.
Diploma awarded
Admission criteria
Applicants will be required to submit a copy of their relevant university diplomas, their CV, a cover letter and a one-page description of a prospective research project in order for their application to be considered. Applicants do not have to be registered as regular PhD students at the University of Geneva in order to participate in this virtual programme. PhD students officially registered at FTI can participate in the programme as part of their doctoral training.
Number of participants
Detailed fees
CHF 1200.-
To be paid upon receipt of the letter confirming your registration. This programme is financially supported by the swissuniversities network in recognition of its innovative structure and content.
Annarita FELICI has been Associate Professor of Translation at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Geneva since October 2014. In 2008, she completed her PhD in Applied Linguistics at Royal Holloway, University of London, with a thesis on the translation of norms in EU legal texts. Her fields of special interest include legal and specialized translation, contrastive linguistics, barrier-free communication and the application of corpus linguistics to translation and specialized languages. She was previously Juniorprofessorin at the University of Cologne in Germany and spent over ten years in the UK lecturing Translation, General Linguistics and Italian as a Foreign Language. She has worked as a translator and as translation project manager in the area of linguistic validation and specialized translation. Since 2016 she has been co-directing the ReMeTIS programme (formerly "EDV") with Professor Ruiz Rosendo.
Lucía RUIZ ROSENDO is Assistant Professor at the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, where she teaches and researches Interpreting. She is also a professional conference interpreter working on the private and institutional markets in Geneva. She obtained a PhD in Interpreting Studies at the University of Granada (Spain) in 2006. Her research focuses on the impact of different factors on the quality of simultaneous interpreting and the role of the interpreter in conflict-related situations (as part of the FTI’s AXS research line). She has presented at several international conferences and is the author of a number of scholarly papers on Interpreting. She has coordinated and participated in various research projects, and currently teaches on the FTI’s MA in Conference Interpreting and the MAS in Interpreter Training. She is also co-director of the FTI’s ReMeTIS programme.
It has been a truly invaluable learning experience for me. During the two courses [ReMeTIS 1 and 2], I have learnt so much from all of the trainers’ constructive input, kind guidance and prompt feedbacks concerning the research methodologies and practical strategies that will be beneficial to me professionally. I’m grateful to the dedicated, passionate UNIGE trainers and peers who have formed a fantastic learning community among which I’ve broadened my perspective a great deal in the field of interpreting studies.
If you have a chance to get involved, I’d say, “Go for it!”. I’m glad I did.
(Xiyun Yang, Minzu University of China, 2019–2020 participant)
When I began this course, I was still at the stage of considering doctoral studies. My motivation to take part was that, despite working as an interpreter trainer at various universities, I hadn’t really done any academic work ever since my graduation 15 years ago, and didn’t feel I was quite up to scratch with methodologies and thesis writing any more. The course on "Research Methods in TI Studies" was thus exactly what I needed to refresh my knowledge and help me get started on the exciting but at the same time rather daunting journey that is a PhD dissertation.
The different modules provided an insight into various topics, be it drafting research questions, ethical considerations, methodological approaches or choosing the right software for qualitative data analysis. The workload was rather intense, but the deadlines were generous enough to allow for me to fit them around my working schedule. Considering the fairly short duration of the course, I learned an amazing lot, and even though I am still not 100% sure which of the methodologies discussed will work best for my thesis, I now have a much clearer understanding of what it is I need to pay attention to and how.
The advice and feedback given by the very dedicated teachers was extremely useful as it led me to critically re-examine some of my ideas and hone my research questions. Against this backdrop, I would like to thank all the teachers involved as well as the peers whom I enjoyed working with.
(Katrin Zimmermann, Conference Interpreter, Berlin, 2018-2019 participant)
Taking the course is a very good way to boost your research skills. It helps you develop insight about your project and fine tune your ideas.
(Sasee Chanprapun, Thamassat University, Thailand, 2018-2019 participant)
I had a very favorable experience in the “Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies” course. The modules and activities gave me an opportunity to strengthen the methodological basis of my research and the staff was extremely approachable and supportive at all times. Moreover, the course helped me get admitted to pursue my graduate degree in Translation Studies. I cannot recommend this programme highly enough!
(Christof Thomas Sulzer, University of Alicante, Spain, 2016 (course I) and 2018 (course II) participant)
I followed the course right at the beginning of my doctoral journey. It allowed me to get familiar with the fundamentals of research methodology and, even more importantly, provided me with a selection of reliable sources. Also, the personal feedback I received from experts throughout every module of the course was incredibly valuable and helped me make considerable progress regarding my own research project.
(Cornelia Staudinger, University of Geneva, 2018-2019 participant)
This course helped me understand how to plan and kick-start a PhD project in translation studies. In particular, I found the module on quantitative data analysis very helpful: an intensive, well-structured 3-weeks programme that gave me the opportunity to discover the most common statistical analyses used in my field. It really helped see my research data in a different light!
(Paolo Cavanese, University of Geneva, 2018-2019 participant)
En tant qu’ancienne participante du programme doctoral virtuel de la Faculté de traduction et d’interprétation de l’Université de Genève, je ne saurai recommander plus vivement ce programme de formation aux futurs doctorants, de même qu’à ceux qui sont au début de leur parcours doctoral. Grâce à ce programme, j’ai eu accès à toute une équipe de professeures dévouées et chevronnées qui m’ont aidé à cheminer dans ma réflexion, mais également à d’autres jeunes chercheurs de partout dans le monde qui, comme moi, en étaient à leur tout début dans cet univers de la recherche doctorale. Les forums de discussion ont été le lieu d’échanges féconds qui m’ont permis de cerner les failles de mon projet, de le bonifier et d’en redéfinir certains aspects. Sans aucun doute, ce programme m’aura donné une solide fondation pour entreprendre mon projet de doctorat et le mener à bien.
(Marie-Hélène Girard, University of Geneva, Laureate of the competition "Ma thèse en 180 secondes", Lecturer at the University of Montreal, Canada, 2016-2017 participant)
I began the course on Research Methods in TI Studies because, despite I had been working as an interpreter and interpreter trainer for several years, I had not really done any academic work since my graduation and I felt the need to learn more in the field of academic research. The course was exactly what I needed to learn the basics to start drafting a PhD project proposal.
I attended module I and module II of the course and found both extremely useful. Through the modules and activities proposed and the fruitful guidance and feedback by the trainers I could learn how to draft research questions, received an insight into ethics and methodology and acquired the confidence to start a PhD dissertation.
In spite of the intense workload, the deadlines were flexible enough for me to combine study with my other working activities. The trainers were always very dedicated and helped me critically rethink some of my approaches and hone my research questions. Exchange with my peers and the critical comparison with their work, under the constant supervision of the trainers, were very useful to understand the strengths and weaknesses of my project and gave me the correct foundations for my future doctoral work.
Against this backdrop, the programme is undoubtedly valuable and should be highly recommended.
(Maura Radicioni, Conference Interpreter and Interpreter Trainer, Italy, 2016-2017 participant)
Contribution to the SDGs