Showcase Guidelines

The Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities hosts an annual Doctoral Research Showcase to promote and disseminate the innovative research being undertaken by arts & humanities doctoral researchers across Scotland. In the absence of a physical showcase during these times of limited in-person interaction, we launched our new online Research Showcase in June 2021 to coincide with the SGSAH Summer School and to share the diverse, exciting and pioneering work of arts & humanities doctoral researchers in Scotland.   

The showcase uses a WordPress site. Participants in the Research Showcase will submit their materials and instructions to the Digital Curator, who will then populate the site. Participants will be able to preview their pages before they launch. Details on this process can be found below.  

Participants should plan their showcase to take no longer than 10-15 minutes to read, watch, and/or listen. Also keep the audience in mind: this will be a highlight of your research, or an aspect of your research, open to the general public and researchers across Scotland, across disciplines, and internationally. 

Contact Us

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please contact the Digital Curator at alborz.dianat@ed.ac.uk.  

Guidelines File

These guidelines are also available in a pdf for download:

sgsah_showcase_guidance-pdfDownload

How to Submit Your Materials

You will need to submit at least two items to participate in the showcase:   

  1. Submission Form: This is where you will provide a description of the material for inclusion in the Research Showcase and information such as a short biography, a short description of your showcase, and copyright specifications for your showcase. 
sgsah-showcase_submission-formDownload
  1. Media Consent and Privacy Notice Form: This is an official document in which you give us permission to publish your showcase materials on the SGSAH Research website for the purposes of the Digital Research Showcase. 
sgsah-showcase_media-consent-formDownload

You will also need to submit separate files for any images, infographics, videos, pdfs, presentations, etc., that are in your showcase. For details on how to do this, please see ‘Formatting Your Submission’ below.  

Due to the number and potential size of files, you will submit all your files via UofG Transfer drop off to andrew.porter@strath.ac.uk. You will be sent confirmation that your submission was received. If you are having difficulties with the transfer, please email danielle.fatzinger@glasgow.ac.uk directly.

Your files will be kept in a designated University of Glasgow OneDrive/SharePoint folder. The content will remain on the website and any necessary third-party websites (YouTube, Soundcloud: see below). The content of your showcase will be kept on the SGSAH Research website as a legacy. However, should you wish to have the content removed in the future please contact admin@sgsah.ac.uk. You may also place a time limit on your showcase, in which case it will be removed at the agreed upon time. 

Formatting Your Submission: Text and Description of Display

Your text and description of display will lay out not only the text to be included, but also where files (images, video, audio, etc.) will be located on the site, the names of those files, and the type of display (for instance, columns, a photo gallery or where photos are placed throughout the text). It will also include captions and alternative text for images and infographics. The way your material will be displayed on the website depends on the type of material it is. 

Everyone’s showcase will be different: some may opt for a video with transcript and description, while others may opt for a slideshow, image gallery with captions, or a more text-heavy approach with a few images, or any number of combinations of material type. It will depend on your research and your experience how you choose to share your work.

The following list outlines materials and suggested file types. Two third-party websites, YouTube and SlideShare, are used to include some content.  

  • Video: Uploaded to YouTube as private and embedded into the SGSAH Research website. Mp4, wmv, or mov.  
  • Audio: Uploaded directly to the webpage and embedded. .mp3, .m4a, .ogg, or .wav 
  • Powerpoint: Will be uploaded to SGSAH’s Google Drive and embedded.   
  • PDF: Will be uploaded to SGSAH’s Google Drive and embedded.   
  • Photos: Will be uploaded directly to the webpage and either included in a photo gallery or placed at specified points in the text. png or jpg.  

To see how items will be displayed and how to show them on your submission form, please visit Display Examples. 

You retain the copyright for all material that you write or create yourself for this showcase. SGSAH Research’s copyright, and therefore the copyright of all showcases, is all rights reserved. The content of your showcase cannot be reproduced, distributed and/or adapted without permission.  

If you need to place a time limit on the display of your showcase (at the request of an industry partner or funder, for instance), please indicate so in the relevant box on the submission form. 

You must adhere to any copyright applying to the materials you have not created yourself. This may involve seeking permission from archives, for instance, or colleagues, and usually includes attributions for the original content creator or citations of the source. It is up to you to ensure you follow copyright regulations. 

If you are unsure if you have permission to use an item, do not use it. It is best to be safe when it comes to copyright. You may be able to find an alternative.  

We will incorporate the credit that you need to include to meet copyright requirements, including logos and links. 

Content Creation and Inclusion

Accessibility

We want our Research Showcase to be accessible to everyone. Please make your content as accessible to those outside of your field as you can by limiting jargon where possible.  

You must also have your materials be accessibility friendly. This includes:  

  • Transcriptions and subtitles for videos. How subtitles are added to videos will depend on your software, and most software has guidance online if you are stuck. 
  • Alternative text for images and infographics. This is in addition to any captions.  
  • Files (pdf, ppt) as accessible as possible to screen readers.  
  • Colour blind friendly colour schemes for figures.  

Transcriptions and alternative text should be included with your submitted materials.

Software/Platforms for Creation

It can be intimidating to look for software or platform options for creating content such as videos or infographics if it’s not something you are familiar with. The list below includes some free or open-source options for different types of content. You will be responsible for learning to use the platforms or software of your choice: many have tutorials or instructions available.  

These are not the only options, so if none of them work for you, you can do some research or ask colleagues for alternatives. 

You can also get in touch with danielle.fatzinger@glasgow.ac.uk if you have other recommendations that you think we should include. 

Royalty-Free Content

There are websites that offer royalty-free content, although they may require you to give credit to the creator. One way content is shared royalty-free is through Creative Commons licenses, which provide information on how a work can be used. Other websites are completely free without restrictions.  

It is up to you to ensure that you are adhering to the copyright of material included in your showcase and that you provide credit when necessary. 

The list below includes some websites that offer free content, but it is not an exhaustive list. Check the specific copyright of a website or item, so you are aware of any restrictions on use or requirements for attribution. 

Images 

Audio 

Other 

FAQ

Is there a live presentation of the showcase or an event I will be expected to attend?

No, the showcase is entirely online. We will be announcing the showcase at a launch, but you will not be required to attend.

Is there a required format for the showcase?

No, there is no required format. Participants have different skills and experiences with creating content and sharing their research, so we encourage participants to format their showcase the way they feel is best. For some, this may be a pdf poster, slideshow, or primarily text-based format. Others may have images to include, or create videos or infographics.

Can I see my showcase before it goes live?

Yes, every participant will have the opportunity to see their showcase before it is available publicly. It will be drafted, password protected, and an invite sent to view it and either suggest changes or approve the showcase.

Will submissions be edited or proofread?

We will make corrections if we notice anything obvious (such as spelling errors). It is otherwise up to you to proofread your work, or perhaps invite a friend or supervisor to review it. If you are particularly concerned about this, such as if English is not your first language, please get in touch with danielle.fatzinger@glasgow.ac.uk, and try to submit your showcase early.

What if I don’t know which subtheme my research falls under?

The themes and subthemes have been chosen to be as inclusive as possible to the wide variety of research being undertaken by Arts and Humanities PhDs in Scotland. Everyone’s research will fit under at least one category! If you are unsure how to categorise your research, please contact the Digital Curator at andrew.porter@strath.ac.uk or submit with your best choice. We will ensure your research is categorised and tagged before publishing.