The delivery of technology-enhanced learning is of increasing relevance to the training and development of researchers in the social sciences. Online resources not only provide a valuable personal development resource for researchers unable to participate in face-to-face training, but also provide an important repository of social science knowledge. There has been a considerable ESRC investment in online resources through initiatives such as the Research Methods Programme (RMP), the Researcher Development Initiative (RDI), Quantitative Methods Initiative (QMI) and the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM).
Who are we?
We are a multi-disciplinary team of social science researchers who collect, update and restore web resources created by ESRC funded projects in an online repository called the ReStore repository. We also develop guidance and actively work with ESRC award holders to promote best practice in online resource creation. We are based at the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) hub at the University of Southampton.
What do we ReStore?
ESRC invests heavily in research methods projects which create, as part of their activities, online training and resource materials, often with considerable interactive or reference-value content. Typically, the development of an on-line resource is time-consuming and expensive and the full value of the resource only comes into play close to the point at which funding ends. To ensure that the resource remains available online for a considerable period of time, the ReStore team work with the resource authors and prepare the resource for ReStoration.
