9.00am
Event Registration and Morning Tea
9.30am
Welcome and HDR led session (speed dating)
Presenters: Caitlin Learmonth and Jenn Wilson
Description: A big part of being an academic researcher is being able to succinctly explain your research. In this icebreaker session, we’re going to put our elevator pitches to the test and get to know other centre members through a speed-dating activity. Elevator pitches can be daunting, and so can speed dating, but fear not, you will be given a series of questions to discuss about your research, the PhD experience, and some classic speed dating quandries. These quick fire questions will give you the opportunity to get to know students from other nodes and outline your goals for the summer school.
Proposed learning outcomes for participants:
• Identify goals for the summer school
• Clearly outline research interests
• Build community with members from other nodes
ROOM 1
ROOM 2
10.30am
SESSION 01
Transformers alive! Live-action role-play of a large language model.
Presenters: Aaron Snoswell, William He, Kevin Witzenberger, Jean Burgess
Description: Participants will take on roles as different components within a Large Language Model like ChatGPT. Someone might represent ‘NSFW Guardrails’, while another person is a ‘red team’ and someone else a ‘tokenizer’. Working together in a dramatised and interactive workshop, we will act out the process of transforming an input prompt into the generated response from the chatbot.
Proposed learning outcomes for participants: Hilarity will abound, and participants will walk away with a deeper, embodied understanding of the internal operation of a transformer language model chat system.
SESSION 02
Semi-structured interviews
Presenters: Ramon Lobato, Lauren Kelly
Description: This session will provide an introduction to semi-structured interviews as a method in qualitative social research. We will discuss different varieties of interviews, the different forms of knowledge they produce, and the ethical considerations involved in different interview scenarios. Emphasis will be placed on practical considerations including selection, recruitment, and setup of the interview.
Proposed learning outcomes for participants: By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to select and design a specific interview approach suited to their research topic. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.
12.00pm
Lunch (Mentoring)
1.00pm
SESSION 03
Data donation methods for internet platform research
Presenters: Dan Angus, Patrik Wikstrom, Amanda Lawrence
Description: A hands-on workshop introducing data donation methods and other options for studying digital platforms and social data using the Australian Internet Observatory research infrastructure.
Proposed learning outcomes for participants: Participants will learn how to find and download their own data from various platforms including TikTok, Netflix and Google Search, and test out some analysis options.
SESSION 04
Human Research Ethics – Essential Learning
Presenters: Fotini Toso
Description: This session will provide an overview of the key principles in the National Statement and how they are applied to human research in Australia. This will include an outline of the four key principles – respect, beneficence, merit and integrity, and justice. It will also include an outline of potential risks in undertaking research with humans and provide strategies for managing or mitigating these risks.
Proposed learning outcomes for participants:
- Identifying and applying key values of ethical research in the National Statement
- Understanding of guidelines, policies, and regulations as they relate to human research.
- Assessing potential risks in human research ethics and managing or mitigating them
2.30pm
Afternoon Tea
3.00pm
SESSION 04
From RAGs to riches: a deep dive into Retrieval Augmented LLMs
Presenters: Aaron Snoswell, William He, Kevin Witzenberger, Jean Burgess, Chenxue Guo, Mohana Rayaprolu
Description: We will first go through a high-level technical explainer of how Retrieval-Augmented generation works and showing some (hopefully very silly/funny) demos, before inviting people to build their own RAG models – build their own Databases/LUTs and make their own prompt templates. Ideally, we build some nonsensical things, like a wint chatbot, a RAG that lets you chat to your thesis, or maybe the US constitution, etc. Hopefully end up with some fun chatbots and insights as output!
Proposed learning outcomes for participants: A deeper understanding of how many LLM-powered apps work, and how to build your own (and hopefully just some funny chatbots)!
SESSION 06
Going with the Flow: Ethnographic approaches for digital media research
Presenters: Brooke Ann Coco, Ned Watt, and Danny Kirby
Description: This interactive workshop invites both qualitative and quantitative researchers to learn about the power of ethnographic approaches for digital media research. The first portion of the workshop provides an introduction to ethnography, tracing its conceptual underpinnings, discussing its core strengths, and highlighting how it can complement other digital research methodologies. Next, we draw upon the experiences of three DMRC researchers to demonstrate different applications of ethnography. This includes sharing practical tips for defining the field and its boundaries, describing the process of attuning to ‘digital flows’, and emphasising the critical role of reflexivity in ethnographic practice. Finally, participants will engage in a hands-on fieldwork exercise to test their own observation skills, offering the opportunity to apply and reflect on the concepts covered.
Proposed learning outcomes for participants: This workshop encourages participants to embrace the complexity, flexibility, and richness of this interpretive qualitative methodology.
