Open Access Resources
Welcome!
That’s Me! is grounded in a clear and ongoing commitment to openness, collaboration, and equity in postgraduate research. Our aim is to improve access to and participation in postgraduate study—particularly for students from Global Majority backgrounds—by making our project outputs freely available.
We believe knowledge grows best when it is shared. That’s why materials created through this project are open access, supporting others to reuse, adapt, and build on our research designs, learnings and recommendations.
We’re always adding new content to this page, so be sure to check back regularly for updates.
Our Open Access Materials
We’ve developed a wide range of resources, all freely available. These include:
- Research designs, including surveys, and focus group and interview templates.
- Reports on project activities and findings.
- Project management policies and practices.
These materials are provided to support other researchers and educators who are committed to improving access and participation in postgraduate study. Whether you're running a pilot project, designing a new initiative, or evaluating outcomes—these tools are here to help.
We welcome feedback and collaboration. If you adapt or reuse any of our designs, we’d love to hear how you’ve used them and what you’ve learned.
Join the conversation
This work is part of a broader community effort. We invite educators, researchers, students, and policy advocates to engage with our project—whether through feedback, co-creation, or future partnership. If you have ideas, questions or feedback please contact us at: thatsme@bcu.ac.uk
Together, we can make postgraduate research more inclusive, transparent, and accessible for all.
We will be updating this page regularly over the coming months so please keep checking for updates.
Research Design Repository: Build on Our Work
One of the key goals of this project is to not only share findings but also enable others to develop, adapt, or extend our methods. Our research design section makes our approach fully transparent and reusable.
In this section, you’ll find:
- Survey, Interview and focus group research designs.
- Research practice and integrity documentation.
- Project co-creation Briefs
Fieldwork Design Template and Proforma
To ensure high-quality, ethical, and consistent research practice, we use a structured fieldwork proforma. This process supports peer review, promotes academic rigour, and governance processes. It helps teams prepare for fieldwork by enabling peer review, ethical compliance, and consistency in delivery across a large research project.
Surveys
We conducted a series of surveys to engage key stakeholders—including students, academics, professional services staff, and regional employers. Below, you'll find copies of the survey instruments along with the corresponding fieldwork proformas.
Count Me In Survey
Our first survey, Count Me In, aimed to gauge interest across the entire student body in participating in the project's research activities. It also gathered demographic data to help identify gaps in representation and ensure inclusive engagement.
Supervisor Survey
Open to all staff serving on supervisory teams, the Supervisor Survey sought to explore their experiences of postgraduate research supervision and associated processes.
Careers Series Survey
This survey, open to all Global Majority postgraduate researchers, was designed to inform the development of an inclusive and targeted Careers Series—created by and for Global Majority researchers. The result was Beyond the Doctorate: A Career Series for Postgraduate Researchers.
Employer Board Survey
Open to all members of the That’s Me! Employer Board, this survey sought to understand how organisations support and perceive doctoral study.
Secondment Scheme Evaluation Survey
Open to all participants in our 2024 Summer Secondment Scheme, this survey evaluated student experiences to help shape and improve future co-creation programmes.