U-TILE

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2026.03.02 Wrap-up and closing data collection phase

What is ‘Wrap-up”? The purpose of the wrap-up phase is to check transcripts of recorded sessions with participants.  There are two steps: Revision in this project means reading through and making small edits to the transcribed exchanges. I apply a guiding set of criteria while editing. These are criteria which I have developed by reading about […]


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2026.02.08 Adopting an opt-in approach between data collection phases

Progress so far has exceeded expectations in terms of sustained participation. One of my objectives in this project has been to make participation as seamless, as ethical and stress-free as possible. In practice, this means that in this study, participants do not have to shoulder the burden of having to ‘opt-out’ of the research. Instead, […]


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2026.01.30 What is a vignette activity..?

A vignette activity consists of a hypothetical scenario with questions.  The scenario is purposely open-ended and can feel ‘vague’. The aim is to attract as broad a response as possible from participants, on how they would approach the fictional situation, based on their own context and experience.  Vignettes are designed to provoke reflection and responses. These […]


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2025.11.15 How language distribution is presented in this research

The next three blocks show language distribution. The first block shows distribution of ‘first’ languages among participants. First language means the language that the participant uses as their main language for work or teaching. It is not always the language of their place of birth, nor of their mother. This is why I use the […]


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2025.11.04 More about… semi-structured interviews

Last month I briefly introduced the idea of ‘semi-structured interviews (SSI)‘ which are interviews guided by a minimal set of pre-designed ‘key’ questions. There are advantages with semi-structured interviews, which contrast with structured and unstructured alternatives. Compared to structured interviews, which follow a fixed set of questions, in a semi-structured interview I can adapt my […]


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2025.10.12 Ethics

Ethics make reliable research. Ethics here means more than sticking to rules and regulations: safeguarding against physical or psychological harm is the bottomline. Ethics in this research aims to go further. This sometimes makes research ‘harder’ in both senses of the term. ‘Harder’ because it can create misunderstandings or make some procedures seem excessively finicky […]


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2025.10.12 Interviews and vignette activity

This research uses two data collection ‘methods’: Semi-structured interviews and vignettes. Semi-structured interviews (SSI) in this research refers to interviews that are guided by a minimal set of pre-designed ‘key’ questions. However, each interview progresses differently, depending on participant answers. SSI contrasts with ‘structured’ and ‘unstructured’ interviews, which could be said to be located at […]


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20250919 Managing and tracking participation

“Participation data” below tracks actual participation as a percentage of peak demonstration of interest (as of 2025/09/19). The chart also includes the proportion of participants who signed up voluntarily following recruitment calls and have no prior connection to the author. This contributes to generating more credible results and ensuring greater diversity in gathered data. Recruitment […]


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2025.09.05 Participant interview scheduling open

If you have signed up as a participant to the UTILE project, you can now book your interview times directly by writing to me at cg559@exeter.ac.uk or by using the booking app here. More information in this previous post accessible through this link.


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2025.08.10 Piloting and interview time booking now open

It is now possible to book times to take part in the project: either as a piloting volunteer or as project participant. Your time is precious and every effort will be made to accommodate and adjust booking times. If you cannot find a slot which suits your schedule, please get in touch by emailing me: […]


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