ResBaz at eResearch 2016

by Dejan Jotanovic

On Wednesday October 12th I joined Belinda Weaver, Amanda Miotto & Stephanie Bradbury at the annual eResearch conference (hosted in Melbourne) to discuss successes and challenges of our - now global - Research Bazaar conference. 

I opened with “ResBaz: The Origins” a timeline of how ResBaz came to be what it is today and teasing out some of the key themes and anthems our community has picked up. In 2014 we were faced with a problem: too many digital research tools, not enough support. ResBaz was our answer: create communities around these tools so researchers could be empowered in digital literacy. Melbourne quickly saw ResBaz develop into a community, campaign and finally a free three day intensive conference. ResBaz also became a space where researchers could battle messy datasets as well as isolation and loneliness. We’ve previously written about how community can combat loneliness in research. You can read summaries of ResBaz 2015 and ResBaz 2016 through the links provided - and for a complete understanding of how ResBaz was founded, read this article from the Research Whisperer. 

Moving forward I looked at the complexities of shifting to a global ResBaz, hitting home that no one can “own” a community. ResBaz 2016 saw sites in Melbourne, Auckland, Perth, Dunedin, Brisbane, Sydney, Guayaquil, Vancouver, Oklahoma & Wellington. ResBaz 2017 will see more pop up! What binds these sites (apart from a handy hashtag, #ResBaz) are three core values: Community, Diversity & Open Access. ResBaz can therefore vary in size, scale, teaching material, and so on. 

To conclude my section, I announced the changes we’d be making for ResBaz Melbourne 2017. Rather than an intensive three days of teaching/learning a digital tool, we’re putting the ‘Bazaar’ back into ResBaz. We’ll be offering a number of ‘ResPitches’ in a variety of digital tools and services. Attendees, grouped through digital tool preferences, will move around the Bazaar and listen to the stories of these tools: how can they be used to do research better, faster, smarter? They’ll also have the opportunity to sign-up to  training workshops/meet-ups for each tool scheduled for the weeks following the conference. 

Why the change? We figured that in terms of pedagogy learning a complex digital tool works best when it’s staggered over time. Learning is a process, and at Melbourne we have the resources to provide a community of dedicated support year round. We wanted to shift ResBaz from being a “one-stop-shop” to an “induction” - a kickstarter - for the year to come. ResBaz 2017 will be a chance to explore, learn about and engage with the community. 

REGISTRATIONS FOR MELBOURNE 2017 ARE NOW OPEN. 

Belinda Weaver then took the floor to discuss ResBaz Brisbane “by the numbers”. The statistics really spoke to the success of the Brisbane’s team’s ability to organise, motivate and create enthusiasm in their communities. Belinda also showed off Brisbane’s digital poster display (to which I was made very jealous of), and their ‘feedback tree’ (a simple idea of adding comments to post-its and sticking them onto a sticker tree). 

Next up Amanda Miotto spoke of the importance of “keeping it social”. At the end of the day, ResBaz was about community - joining likeminded people together across very particular needs (such as digital literacy). Belinda said it well when she commented that ResBaz was “about helping people find their feet in a strange and new community". Tweet Amanda if you’d like some tips on how to socially engage your audience. 

And last - but certainly not least - Stephanie Bradbury explored the (much needed) logistics of running a ResBaz event. Institutional support, an enthusiastic volunteer base, sponsorship, an attractive proposal and an ever-flowing Twitter stream were all listed as key points of organisational success! 

We concluded by emphasising that there’s also a community of support attached to ResBaz organisers. We have a “ResBaz Cookbook” (a ‘how to’ in crafting a ResBaz) which is a collaborative effort between a variety of ResBaz sites. We also organise ourselves on Slack - and anyone is welcome to join! Simply email your interest to research.bazaar@gmail.com