This week Nick speaks with his Library colleague Kikachukwu Oluonye about the UKRN Train the Trainer programme.

Like Nick, Kikachukwu is an Open Research Adviser based in the Library and also has a role with the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) as Open Research Coordinators and Administrator (ORCA).

As a member institution of UKRN, Kikachukwu would like to invite University of Leeds colleagues to apply to be part of the second cohort of the UKRN Train the Trainer programme. You'll need to be quick though as the deadline is next week, 17th September.

We also hear from Dr Scott Mclaughlin, Associate Professor in Composition and Music Technology based in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures. Scott was a member of the first cohort last year and talks about open research from the perspective of Arts and Humanities, and as a practice researcher.

Episode highlights:

UKRN Train the Trainer Programme Overview: The University of Leeds joined the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) consortium in February 2024, participating in the Train the Trainer programme designed to create Open Research Training leads. The programme is open to professional services staff, researchers, research fellows, and PIs with free courses running from September through December.

Cross-disciplinary Challenges in Open Research: The conversation reveals how open research practices vary significantly across, even within, disciplines While traditional reproducibility concepts from psychology and other empirical disciplines don't directly translate to arts and humanities, there are valuable opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue and adaptation of open research principles.

Practice Research and Open Scholarship: Dr. McLaughlin's work in experimental music composition demonstrates how practice-based research in the arts faces unique challenges around copyright, and making creative processes transparent while maintaining artistic integrity and commercial viability.

Institutional Support and Recognition: Programme participants receive certificates upon completion and the title of Open Research Training leads, with the initiative supported by Research England funding and led locally by Professor Daryl O'Connor as institutional lead.

Future Developments: The discussion touches on upcoming initiatives including the Enact project, led by the University of Westminster, to develop a national digital repository for practice research, and ongoing work to adapt open research principles across the diverse research landscape of Arts and Humanities at Leeds and beyond.

Episode links:

• Igbo Wikipedia
• The UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN)
• PRAG-UK
• McLaughlin, Scott (2022) The Garden of Forking Paths. University of Leeds. [Dataset] https://doi.org/10.5518/1117
• Gelma, A,. Loken, E. (2013) The garden of forking paths: Why multiple comparisons can be a problem, even when there is no “fishing expedition” or “p-hacking” and the research hypothesis was posited ahead of time
• Westminster-led collaborative project receives funding to build data service for practice research
• Jackson, T., Knowles, C., McLaughlin, S. et al. (4 more authors) (2023) Sustaining Practice Assets for Research, Knowledge, Learning and Engagement (SPARKLE) : Final Report and Recommendations. Report. University of Leeds https://doi.org/10.48785/100/296