Welcome to our Summer School Pages

Students and staff of Summer School 2007

The purpose of the Summer School is to provide an ‘advanced introduction’ to social research methods relevant to end of life care.  The course is ‘advanced’ in the sense that you will be taught by expert researchers who will develop students' knowledge of selected methodologies to a high level.  It is also an ‘introduction’ in that it assumes no prior knowledge of research methods in the social sciences and is aimed at those at an early stage in developing their own research.

The Summer School is held annually and runs over a period of two weeks. Week 1 focuses on a classroom-based in-depth introduction to social research methods in end of life care. In week 2 students have the opportunity for group discussions and individual tutorials focused on the development of their own research ideas and projects. The second week will also provide opportunities to work within the Observatory’s resource centre, to undertake clinical and study visits and to pursue a programme of supervised private study. Attendance can be for one or two weeks.

The course takes place at Lancaster University, UK, home to the International Observatory on End of Life Care and a group of social scientists and clinicians with extensive experience in research on end of life issues.

We would like to express our gratitude to the Irish Hospice Foundation, who have generously donated funds to support two international student bursaries this year.