{"id":4163,"date":"2017-10-31T13:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/upgrade-understandingunbelief\/?page_id=4163"},"modified":"2020-09-04T16:37:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T15:37:17","slug":"ssnbnsrn-methods-series","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/blogs\/ssnbnsrn-methods-series\/","title":{"rendered":"SSNB\/NSRN methods series"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"breadcrumb \"><a href=\"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/\" rel=\"index\">Home<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/publications\/blogs\/\/\">Blogs<\/a><\/nav>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/\">The Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network<\/a> (NSRN) is an international and interdisciplinary network of researchers; the network was founded in 2008 to centralise existing research on the topic of nonreligion and secularity and to facilitate discussion in this area.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, in collaboration with the\u00a0Scientific Study of Nonreligious Belief (SSNB) project- the predecessor project of the Understanding Unbelief programme, the NSRN began a series of blogs providing practical guidance for the empirical study of nonreligious individuals, institutions and cultures, as well as exploring outstanding methodological challenges and new opportunities. Here we provide links to the original series and to the NSRN&#8217;s ongoing occasional series of methods blogs.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>February 2017<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2017\/02\/17\/beyond-religion-versus-emancipation-formulating-methodological-considerations-about-the-secular-in-public-controversies\/\">Beyond \u2018Religion versus Emancipation\u2019. Formulating Methodological Considerations about \u2018the Secular\u2019 in Public\u00a0Controversies. <\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Nella van den Brandt<\/h4>\n<p>Nella van den Brandt introduces the 2016-2021 project \u201cBeyond \u2018Religion versus Emancipation\u2019: Gender and Sexuality in Women\u2019s Conversions to Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Contemporary Western Europe\u201d, hosted at the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department of Utrecht University, the Netherlands. She argues that, by examining controversial events, her project sheds new light for understanding of how secularity shapes and is shaped by public discourse. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2017\/02\/17\/beyond-religion-versus-emancipation-formulating-methodological-considerations-about-the-secular-in-public-controversies\/\">here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>October 2016<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/10\/04\/methods-series-on-the-virtues-of-a-meaning-systems-framework-for-studying-nonreligious-and-religious-worldviews-in-the-context-of-everyday-life\/\">On the Virtues of a Meaning Systems Framework for Studying Nonreligious and Religious Worldviews in the Context of Everyday\u00a0Life <\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Ann Taves<\/h4>\n<p>Ann Taves explores one of the central questions in contemporary nonreligious studies \u2013 and a long-standing religious studies, too: how to understand and describe the object of study. Providing an overview of recent propositions arising from psychology, sociology and anthropology, she sets out a proposal for a meaning systems approach. Read more<a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/10\/04\/methods-series-on-the-virtues-of-a-meaning-systems-framework-for-studying-nonreligious-and-religious-worldviews-in-the-context-of-everyday-life\/\"> here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>September 2016<\/h2>\n<h3>What\u2019s in a name?\u00a0\u2026<\/h3>\n<h4>Lois Lee and Stephen Bullivant<\/h4>\n<p>Lois Lee and Stephen Bullivant address the need for a common set of accessible and rigorous terms for the study and wider discussion of atheism, nonreligion, secularity et al.. They explain how their new project,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucl.ac.uk\/non-religious-belief\/resources\/concepts\/oxford-dictionary-of-atheism\">The Oxford Dictionary of Atheism<\/a>, will address this need and introduce a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/resources\/concepts\/\">glossary<\/a> of key terms\u00a0excerpted from the Dictionary that are already available for use. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/09\/06\/whats-in-a-name\/\">here&#8230;\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>August 2016<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/08\/15\/blog-series-using-neuromodulation-to-change-belief-and-unbelief\/\">Using Neuromodulation to Change Belief \u2013 and\u00a0Unbelief\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Valerie van Mulukom<\/h4>\n<p>Valerie van Mulukom introduces cognitive research exploring how religious beliefs can be modulated. She shows how reframing such research as stimulating of \u2018unbelief\u2019 open new avenues for new ways of exploring the nature of unbelief and its similarities and dissimilarities to religious and spiritual beliefs. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/08\/15\/blog-series-using-neuromodulation-to-change-belief-and-unbelief\/\">here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/08\/01\/blog-series-honest-answers-to-awkward-questions\/\">Honest Answers to Awkward\u00a0Questions <\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Will Gervais<\/h4>\n<p>psychologist Will Gervais introduces us to the unmatched count technique for survey research.\u00a0 This technique is designed to allow survey takers to give more honest answers to awkward questions (e.g. Do you believe in God?) and to allow researchers to make more accurate population level estimates of socially sensitive phenomena (e.g. \u00a0the prevalence of atheism). Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/08\/01\/blog-series-honest-answers-to-awkward-questions\/\">here&#8230;\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>June 2016<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/06\/22\/creating-data-about-nonreligious-belief\/\">Creating Data about Nonreligious\u00a0Belief \u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Abby Day<\/h4>\n<p>Abby Day is a leading sociologist of \u2018belief\u2019. Here, she sets out what working with \u2018belief\u2019 as a significant category of self-understanding can achieve, for religious \u2018unbelievers\u2019 as much as for \u2018believers\u2019. She encourages the use of analytical tools that respond to the complexity and multidimensionality of belief, and introduces her own seven-point method as one such approach. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/06\/22\/creating-data-about-nonreligious-belief\/\">here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/06\/13\/blog-series-you-get-what-you-ask-for-the-importance-of-question-wording-in-surveys\/\">You Get What You Ask For: The Importance of Question Wording in\u00a0Surveys \u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Ryan T. Cragun<\/h4>\n<p>Sociologist Ryan T. Cragun considers bad, better and best ways of asking interview questions about religious affiliation and belief. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/06\/13\/blog-series-you-get-what-you-ask-for-the-importance-of-question-wording-in-surveys\/\">here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/06\/01\/not-for-girls-gender-and-researching-nonreligion\/\">Not for Girls? Gender and Researching\u00a0Nonreligion <\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Marta Trzebiatowska<\/h4>\n<p>Marta Trzebiatowska explores how we need to structure our methodologies to take account of gender \u2013 and how our methodologies may themselves be structured by gender. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/06\/01\/not-for-girls-gender-and-researching-nonreligion\/\">here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>May 2016<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/05\/25\/blog-series-measuring-atheism-differentiating-non-religiosity-and-anti-religiosity\/\">Measuring Atheism: Differentiating Non-religiosity and Anti-religiosity \u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Egbert Ribberink, Peter Achterberg and Dick Houtman<\/h4>\n<p>Egbert Ribberink, Peter Achterberg and Dick Houtman explore the problematic nature of measuring and differentiating\u00a0atheism, non-religion and anti-religiosity and call for using existing large-scale surveys to understand said phenomena. From their recent research they detail the particular obstacles they overcame and elucidate how different questions on measuring non-belief produce much different answers. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/05\/25\/blog-series-measuring-atheism-differentiating-non-religiosity-and-anti-religiosity\/\">here&#8230;\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/05\/18\/blog-series-angels-and-the-digital-afterlife-studying-nonreligion-online\/\">Angels and the Digital Afterlife: Studying Nonreligion\u00a0Online <\/a><!-- .entry-header --><\/h3>\n<h4>Tim Hutchings<\/h4>\n<p>Tim Hutchings argues that the scope and\u00a0significance of digital methodologies for the study of \u2013 and beyond \u2013 \u2018nonreligion\u2019 is much broader and more promising than is often perceived. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/05\/18\/blog-series-angels-and-the-digital-afterlife-studying-nonreligion-online\/\">here&#8230;\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/05\/04\/blog-series-measuring-implicit-religious-and-nonreligious-belief\/\">Measuring Implicit Religious and Nonreligious\u00a0Belief\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"entry-content\">Elisa J\u00e4rnefelt<\/h4>\n<p>Elisa J\u00e4rnefelt introduces us to methods for researching, not the religious-like and religion-related beliefs we consciously\u00a0think we hold, but the ones we unconsciously\u00a0hold \u2013 which work to shape our attitudes, behaviours and relationships with others beneath our awareness. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/05\/04\/blog-series-measuring-implicit-religious-and-nonreligious-belief\/\">here&#8230;\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>April 2016<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/04\/27\/blog-series-research-methods-for-the-scientific-study-of-nonreligion\/\">Research Methods for the Scientific Study of\u00a0Nonreligion<\/a><\/h3>\n<h4>Lois Lee, Stephen Bullivant, Miguel Farias and Jonathan Lanman<\/h4>\n<p>The NSRN will work in collaboration with the Scientific Study of Nonreligious Belief* project to present a series of blogs providing practical guidance for the empirical study of nonreligious individuals, institutions and cultures, as well as exploring outstanding methodological challenges and new opportunities. In this opening blog, the series editors, Lois Lee, Stephen Bullivant, Miguel Farias and Jonathan Lanman, introduce the series. Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nsrn.net\/2016\/04\/27\/blog-series-research-methods-for-the-scientific-study-of-nonreligion\/\">here&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HomeBlogs The Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN) is an international and interdisciplinary network of researchers; the network was founded in 2008 to centralise existing research on the topic of nonreligion and secularity and to facilitate discussion in this area. In 2016, in collaboration with the\u00a0Scientific Study of Nonreligious Belief (SSNB) project- the predecessor project [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"parent":4090,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4163","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4163"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6400,"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4163\/revisions\/6400"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/understandingunbelief\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}