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TRAINING & WEBINARS

Research methods training with SAM

Develop your skills in collecting, interpreting and explaining qualitative evidence.

Join Dr Sam Martin for practical courses connecting research questions with the decisions involved in working with interviews, open-text responses, public discussion, documents and recorded journeys. Choose a session or build a learning route through source-focused workshops, text networks, SAM Pathways and research reporting.

Webinar dates

Sessions are delivered live via Zoom, with automatic English captions. Check each card for its Europe/London time. Tickets are £60 standard or £40 student/access, including booking fees. No VAT is charged. Choose a session below for its current booking availability.

Building Research Datasets for Big Qual Analysis: GOV.UK collection and review with narrative timeline, theme travel and network examples
Tuesday, 10 November 2026

10:30–12:00 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Building Research Datasets for Big Qual Analysis

Live online webinar · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Build a purposeful research dataset from online sources and imported material. Learn how a research question shapes source selection, collection boundaries and inclusion decisions, then use prepared examples to review provenance, organise material and explain what the resulting dataset can support.

  • Frame a research question that supports clear source and inclusion decisions.
  • Explain how collected and imported material contribute different kinds of evidence.
  • Review a prepared dataset for relevance, provenance, gaps and limitations.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

Big Qual Analysis of Social Media with SAM: Network, Drift map, Theme travel, Emoji cloud and Emoji over time
Tuesday, 17 November 2026

10:30–12:00 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Big Qual Analysis of Social Media with SAM: Meaning, Networks and Change

Live online webinar · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Explore how people discuss issues across social-media posts, comments and conversations. Follow a workflow from a bounded collection to topic exploration, close reading and interpretation. Using prepared examples, examine sentiment and stance, investigate connections between concepts, and consider differences across sources or time periods. Learn how SAM's analytical views can support a contextual account of public discussion. A free Zoom account is required to watch the private course replay.

  • Describe the source, sampling boundaries and unit of analysis for a bounded social-media collection.
  • Use topic exploration and selected analytical views to develop a question for closer reading.
  • Explain what an entity or topic co-occurrence network represents and investigate an observation through its source records.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

SAM training: qualitative analysis with source screenshots
Friday, 27 November 2026

10:30–12:00 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Qualitative Data Analysis with SAM: Interviews, Coding and Interpretation

Live online webinar · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Work through an interview-led analysis and see how its approach extends to open-text survey responses. Learn how to organise material, develop and revise codes, examine AI-supported suggestions, and connect interpretations to their source excerpts. This introductory webinar uses prepared SAM datasets to explore analytical judgement, thematic development and comparison, with time for discussion and optional guided practice throughout the session. A free Zoom account is required to watch the private course replay.

  • Explain what source, case and speaker information needs to accompany qualitative material when it is prepared for analysis.
  • Apply and refine a small coding scheme, explaining the reasoning behind a coding decision.
  • Assess automated suggestions through close reading, code definitions and consideration of alternative interpretations.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

Big Qual Analysis of Social Media with SAM: Network, Drift map, Theme travel, Emoji cloud and Emoji over time
Wednesday, 2 December 2026

14:00–15:30 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Big Qual Analysis of Social Media with SAM: Meaning, Networks and Change

Repeat delivery · choose one date · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Explore how people discuss issues across social-media posts, comments and conversations. Follow a workflow from a bounded collection to topic exploration, close reading and interpretation. Using prepared examples, examine sentiment and stance, investigate connections between concepts, and consider differences across sources or time periods. Learn how SAM's analytical views can support a contextual account of public discussion. A free Zoom account is required to watch the private course replay.

  • Describe the source, sampling boundaries and unit of analysis for a bounded social-media collection.
  • Use topic exploration and selected analytical views to develop a question for closer reading.
  • Explain what an entity or topic co-occurrence network represents and investigate an observation through its source records.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

SAM training: public source research with source screenshots
Monday, 7 December 2026

10:30–12:00 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Literature Reviews and Documentary Analysis with SAM Collect

Live online webinar · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Bring structure to your literature review or documentary analysis. Explore two routes into SAM: finding relevant records with SAM Collect and importing materials you already hold. Learn how to organise a focused collection, examine recurring topics, develop a coding framework and compare sources, using academic and policy examples while keeping interpretation connected to the underlying evidence and your research question. A free Zoom account is required to watch the private course replay.

  • Translate a research question into a bounded collection plan and choose a suitable collection or import route.
  • Distinguish the analytical possibilities of metadata, abstracts and full-text documents.
  • Organise selected material and apply a starting coding framework while recording the reasons for analytical choices.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

SAM training: qualitative analysis with source screenshots
Friday, 11 December 2026

10:30–12:00 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Qualitative Data Analysis with SAM: Interviews, Coding and Interpretation

Repeat delivery · choose one date · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Work through an interview-led analysis and see how its approach extends to open-text survey responses. Learn how to organise material, develop and revise codes, examine AI-supported suggestions, and connect interpretations to their source excerpts. This introductory webinar uses prepared SAM datasets to explore analytical judgement, thematic development and comparison, with time for discussion and optional guided practice throughout the session. A free Zoom account is required to watch the private course replay.

  • Explain what source, case and speaker information needs to accompany qualitative material when it is prepared for analysis.
  • Apply and refine a small coding scheme, explaining the reasoning behind a coding decision.
  • Assess automated suggestions through close reading, code definitions and consideration of alternative interpretations.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

Researcher-defined stance in SAM
Tuesday, 15 December 2026

10:30–12:00 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Sentiment, Emotion and Stance: From Analysis to Coding

Live online webinar · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Examine how a text can express frustration, support a proposal and describe a positive encounter at the same time. Learn to distinguish sentiment, emotion and stance, review saved labels against source context, and explain how these readings can inform a purposeful qualitative coding exercise.

  • Define an explicit stance proposition and identify the referents within a passage.
  • Explain the different questions addressed by sentiment, emotional expression, stance and qualitative coding.
  • Review a saved classification through contextual reading and explain a revised or unresolved interpretation.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

Building Research Datasets for Big Qual Analysis: GOV.UK collection and review with narrative timeline, theme travel and network examples
Friday, 8 January 2027

10:30–12:00 GMT · Europe/London

Registration open

Building Research Datasets for Big Qual Analysis

Repeat delivery · choose one date · £60 standard / £40 student-access

Build a purposeful research dataset from online sources and imported material. Learn how a research question shapes source selection, collection boundaries and inclusion decisions, then use prepared examples to review provenance, organise material and explain what the resulting dataset can support.

  • Frame a research question that supports clear source and inclusion decisions.
  • Explain how collected and imported material contribute different kinds of evidence.
  • Review a prepared dataset for relevance, provenance, gaps and limitations.

Live online · 90 minutes, including a five-minute screen break.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Dr Sam Martin

Sam is a digital sociologist and the developer of Social Analysis of Meaning (SAM). The platform and courses extend her Big Qual Methods work with Oxford and UCL/RREAL over the years. Her teaching connects analytical tools with research questions, context and researcher judgement.

Practical questions

How long are the courses and how are they delivered?

Course duration, dates and times are shown with each delivery. Sessions run live online via Zoom with automatic English captions. The 90-minute sessions include a five-minute screen break; longer workshops have their own schedules. Check your selected delivery for its time and timezone. Dates labelled Proposed remain provisional.

Can I watch the demonstration or take part?

For sessions that include teaching-workspace access, your booking includes named access to the shared SAM teaching workspace on the day of your course and for the following 14 days, ending at 23:59 Europe/London on the fourteenth day after your course. Explore around ten prepared teaching datasets and practise the course methods. A paid SAM subscription is not required. The teaching workspace uses the supplied datasets only; uploading or importing your own data and starting new data collections are unavailable. You may watch the demonstration or use the included practice access. Each course states its access arrangements before bookings open.

Do I need to attend every date?

No. Repeat dates teach the same course; choose one delivery per topic. Courses can be taken separately where you meet their suggested preparation, including equivalent prior experience.

What experience do I need?

Check the suggested preparation on each course page. It explains any previous SAM experience, prerequisite course or equivalent experience needed.

What will attendance cost?

Course fees are shown with each delivery. Sessions priced at £60 standard or £40 student/access include booking fees. The student/access rate is for students, unwaged researchers and researchers personally funding attendance without institutional training support. Fees are confirmed before a session opens for booking.

Will I receive a recording and materials?

For sessions that include a replay, a checked recording of the teaching and demonstration will be shared with registered participants within five working days of the course, with checked replay captions. It will remain available to view for 30 days from sharing. Recording access continues independently of the SAM teaching workspace access period. Slides, handouts and practice datasets are included. Slides and handouts are available to download for 30 days from sharing and may be kept for personal learning and reference. Separate dataset and source licences still apply. To watch your private course replay, you will need a free Zoom account. Please use the same email address as your booking, or contact us before the course if your Zoom account uses a different address. Included benefits are shown on each course page before bookings open.

What will be recorded, and how long are meeting files kept?

We record the trainer, slides and SAM demonstrations. Participant gallery view, names and chat are kept out of the shared recording. Questions are repeated anonymously and recording is paused for personal-case discussions. Camera-off attendance is welcome. Raw recordings and any participant-identifying transcripts or chats are deleted within 60 days of first sharing the replay.

Is there a SAM subscription offer?

For sessions that include the subscription offer, course attendees receive 20% off the first eligible Academic or Professional individual SAM subscription invoice only: the first monthly invoice or the first annual invoice. Subsequent invoices use normal pricing. Redeem within 30 days of your course date. Standard pricing applies afterwards. The offer applies once per customer to individual subscription fees and cannot be combined with another promotional discount. Additional processing Credits, top-ups, private training and team or institutional plans are excluded. Repeat course attendance does not extend or restart the discount. A subscription purchase is optional and separate from the course booking. Included benefits are shown on each course page before bookings open.

How can I request an accessibility adjustment?

Live online via Zoom, with automatic English captions. Request an adjustment through Ask about training: https://samapp.bigqualdatalabs.com/support/training?reason=accessibility You will be able to tell us what would help you take part, without sharing a medical diagnosis. Questions can be asked through chat or speech, and camera use is optional.

Can I cancel my booking?

You can cancel for a full refund, including booking fees, at least seven calendar days before your webinar starts. We also offer a full refund if you cancel within 14 days after the day you booked, including if you have already attended or accessed the recording or teaching workspace. For later cancellations outside these windows, please contact us. We will consider the circumstances and any transfer available. Any amount retained will be limited to reasonable costs or losses we cannot avoid. These arrangements do not limit your statutory rights.

Can I transfer to another date or send a substitute?

Contact us at least 48 hours before the start to transfer once, free of charge, to another published date for the same webinar, subject to availability. You may nominate a substitute attendee at least 24 hours before the start. For a student/access ticket, the substitute must also qualify for that rate or pay the difference to the standard price.

What happens if SAM cancels or changes the date?

If we cancel your webinar, you will receive a full refund. If we change its date, you may choose the replacement date or a full refund.

How do I request a cancellation or transfer?

Use Ask about training to request a cancellation or transfer: https://samapp.bigqualdatalabs.com/support/training?reason=course Include your name, booking reference and course date when contacting us. We aim to respond within five working days. Refunds are made without undue delay and within 14 days, normally to the original payment method. These arrangements do not limit your statutory rights.

Can you provide private online team training?

We offer live online training for research groups and organisations. Sessions can be tailored to your research context, experience and learning goals. Ask about private online team training: https://samapp.bigqualdatalabs.com/support/training?reason=team

Keep in touch about training

Register for course updates. This does not reserve a place. To attend an open session, use its Book on Eventbrite button. No SAM account or subscription is needed to register interest.

Ask about a course, accessibility or private online team training. An enquiry does not subscribe you to course updates.

TRAINING & WEBINARS

Find the course for your research question.

Explore the courses and session dates. Choose a session to check booking availability, register interest or ask about training.

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