Short course Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies (II): Specific Research and Scientific Communication Skills 2023
Information
Period
1 March 2023 - 26 May 2023Language
EnglishFormat
Distance learningObjectives
- Develop state-of-the-art scientific skills in Translation and Interpreting Studies with a focus on corpus design and quantitative data analysis*
- Develop written and oral scientific communication skills
- Start building your career strategy
- Design an efficient publication strategy
*Please note that qualitative methods and mixed methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies are taught in ReMeTIS course 1
Audience
Learning outcomes
- Learn about the types of corpora used in Translation and Interpreting Studies
- Familiarise yourself with major corpus tools and resources
- Learn how to analyse quantitative data
- Understand the issues specific to data collection and analysis in these areas
- Learn how to prepare and deliver an effective presentation
- Learn how to create a well-designed conference poster
- Understand essential concepts related to the distribution of research results
- Learn how to develop your own publication strategy
Director(s)
Prof. Pierrette BOUILLON, Prof. Annarita FELICI and Prof. Lucia RUIZ ROSENDO, Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (FTI), University of Geneva
Coordinator(s)
ReMeTIS II focuses on research on corpora in Translation and Interpreting Studies and quantitative methods, and is designed to further develop transferable skills such as scientific communication and career and publication strategies. The course consists of individual and collaborative activities 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: you write messages in forums to unknown peers who answer in a different time zone. This first activity is designed to bring the human element back into our online interactions. Who are you? Who are your peers (colleagues)? Who will you be working with these coming months?
Before asking you to attend webinars, read demanding papers, and post your work, uploading a short video introduction will help you discover the functionalities of the platform and the technical expectations for the upcoming activities. It's time to practice: it's fun, and the stakes are low!
In 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
- Learn about the type of corpora used in translation and interpreting studies.
- Familiarise yourself with major corpus tools and resources.
- Understand the issues specific to data collection and corpus analysis in TIS.
- Understand the advantages and limitations of corpus linguistics in TIS.
- Pass on basic knowledge to build DIY corpora.
- Provide support for those who intend to use corpora in their research.
Date(s)
Description
- Learn how to anticipate the type of results your study will yield and the conclusions they will and won't allow you to derive.
- Learn about sampling, data types, and a few essential calculations.
- Learn how to analyse data using a statistical computing environment (R).
Date(s)
Description
- Learn how to create a visually attractive poster that communicates a clear message.
- Learn how to effectively manage interaction with your poster audience.
- Learn how to prepare very short oral presentations to accompany your poster.
Date(s)
Description
Your career as a researcher
- Develop networking skills and learn how to enhance your academic visibility online and offline.
- Understand the importance of academic mobility in terms of adaptability, networking, and scientific skills.
- Design a career plan.
Publication strategies
- Understand essential concepts related to the distribution of research results, such as scientific honesty, the peer-review system, “grey literature”, open access / open archives, impact factor and authorship.
- Develop field-specific publication strategies.
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 Swiss Universities network in recognition of its innovative structure and content.
Annarita FELICI has been an 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 an 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 I and II], 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)