62 Social Sciences courses in Pontypridd delivered Live Online

You will be introduced to the content of our online course Doing Qualitative Research, including the complete open data set of the Qualitative Research Journeys project

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Julie Gourinchas (she/they) is developing a selective list focused on upmarket and literary adult fiction across a wide variety of genres. Writers she represents have been nominated for the British Book Awards, the Hugo Awards, the BSFA Awards, and the Saltire National Book Awards, among others. In fiction, she's drawn to a uncommon voices, and striking, intelligent writing – whether vibrant and floral or tense, quick, and sparse – as well as texture in both tone and setting (particularly anything with a strong aesthetic). Above all, she is looking for hooky, high-concept work, but her taste can perhaps be best summarised as "the weird, dark, and gruesome." While literary-speculative is her sweet spot, she considers herself genre agnostic within upmarket/literary fiction, and remains open to compelling and well-executed genre overlap. These include: upmarket and literary horror: especially featuring feminist or cultural themes, body horror, mangled nature, or cosmic, Lovecraftian vibes and looking for a fresh, literary take on vampires. Think Mona Awad, Lucy Rose, Julia Armfield, Jade Song, Stephen Graham Jones. dark and spiky literary dramas with high emotional stakes - think Eliza Clark, Julia May Jonas. razor-sharp dark academia particularly with something to say about the complex and exploitative systems within academia, more The Secret History, less The Atlas Six. gothic fiction, specifically regional gothic anchored in an evocative sense of place in the vein of Alexis Henderson and Alix E. Harrow. grounded fantasy or otherwise speculative fiction with coherent, sharp worldbuilding that feels recognisable and familiar, or directly set in our world. Play with magic, faith, and technology in your story like Babel, or a more literary version like Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Blood Over Bright Haven, Metal From Heaven. Searing contemporary fiction centred on themes of identity and belonging: think Sally Rooney, Torrey Peters, or what Saltburn should have been. dark westerns, in particular any that play with the truth and false hopes of the American Dream. magical realism both whimsy with a touch of darkness, and darkness with a touch of whimsy. unhappy romances anything -punk: steampunk, solarpunk, silkpunk, clockpunk, dieselpunk, cyberpunk and more of these! Suffice to say: if you can successfully and smartly comp to Arcane, Julie wants to see it! character-focused historical fiction with a literary edge: think Lauren Groff, Anthony Doerr, Eleanor Catton, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries; including and indeed encouraging alternate history. Stylistically, Julie loves uncommon, thought-provoking experimentation with both prose and form, and anything spiky, toothy, and dark. Happy endings, to her, should feel earned. In all things, compelling character development should come first. First person narration is not impossible, but hard to sell. A smart genre blend is always welcome, as is any fresh-eyed approach to a well-trodden trope. Julie is also very much looking for her first romantasy – especially one that approaches this exciting new genre from a fresh, bold perspective. She is keenly interested in hearing from authors traditionally underrepresented in the industry, including but not restricted to writers of colour; queer, trans, and nonbinary writers; working class writers; disabled writers; etc. Her enduring favourite books include All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien, The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. More recent favourites include the masterful Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Babel by R.F. Kuang, Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters, Matrix by Lauren Groff, Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt, Brother Alive by Zain Khalid, and Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. In non-fiction, Julie is keen to read in the narrative and “big ideas” spaces, particularly in the realms of politics, history, and the social sciences. Please note: Julie is not looking for young adult, middle grade, and children’s books. Strictly no AI-generated content of any description. Please also bear in mind that, despite a deep and abiding love for all things Tolkien and Star Wars, she is not typically the right fit for epic or high fantasy, nor space-faring science fiction. She would also prefer to avoid pulpy crime and straightforward romance/romcoms. Julie would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document.  (In addition to the paid sessions, Julie is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Tuesday 29th April 2025

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The course covers research design principles and all main quantitative evaluation methods: randomised experiments, instrumental variables, sharp and fuzzy regression discontinuity designs, regression methods, matching methods and longitudinal methods (before-after, difference-in-differences and synthetic controls).

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If you are new to qualitative research or if you want some initial help to engage with the materials appropriately, then this webinar programme is for you. Doing Qualitative Research is a free curated resource we developed that takes researchers through the whole research cycle, not just the analysis. There is a heavy emphasis on what it is like to 'do' qualitative research in a robust, ethical and professional manner, with practical exercises and reflexive tasks suggested throughout. We are running two, one-hour webinars together with asynchronous, self-directed engagement with the course materials, to help a peer-group of researchers work through the resources on the parts of the qualitative research process they need help with. We understand that not everyone needs to cover the same materials and concepts, or at the same pace. In the first station, discussion with your peers and the facilitator, will help you choose which parts of the Doing Qualitative Research course to focus on before the second webinar. The concluding webinar uses group work and discussion for you to additionally practice one of the most important aspects of the qualitative research paradigm; reflexivity. You will identify what you have learned and how this affects what you will do next with your learning and research. The webinars are facilitated by our Qualitative Research Specialist Dr Cathy Gibbons. Cathy has almost 20 years' experience of teaching qualitative methods across a wide spectrum of disciplines within and beyond the social sciences. The session is free, and runs as two 2hr sessions, 2 weeks apart.

This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding as to how an organisation develops an international trade strategy. It includes establishing export goals, undertaking research into potential markets, developing an international pricing strategy, investigating shipping and logistics, marketing and promotion, documentation, distribution and review and monitoring.

The course covers research design principles and all main quantitative evaluation methods: randomised experiments, instrumental variables, sharp and fuzzy regression discontinuity designs, regression methods, matching methods and longitudinal methods (before-after, difference-in-differences and synthetic controls).

This module aims to develop knowledge from research activities to gain an understanding of international trade theory, global economic development and growth, currency and exchange rates, trade policies and their impact on an organisation, free trade agreements, direct investment from financial sources outside the UK, tariffs and no trade barriers, supply chain and logistics, intercultural management and international law and treaties.