A new series led by CLIME Associate Director Justin Bullock, MD, MPH, that breaks down the building blocks of education research. CLIME TIME unpacks the theory, inquiry, and methods behind strong scholarly work in a practical, approachable way, helping you strengthen your research toolkit one concept at a time.
Educational Scholarship 101: Working Backwards from Publication to Idea
Speaker: Justin Bullock, MD, MPH
Where does a research project really begin? In this session, we'll trace the full arc of educational scholarship, from publication back to idea, and explore what it takes to move from curiosity to dissemination. You'll leave with a clearer picture of the study process and the common pitfalls to watch for along the way.
Register →Introduction to Survey Design
Speaker: Justin Bullock, MD, MPH
Surveys are one of the most common tools in educational research — and one of the easiest to get wrong. In this session, you'll learn how to design instruments that are reliable with validity evidence, spot the pitfalls that undermine survey quality, and choose the right platform (Qualtrics, REDCap, and others) for your study.
Register →Advanced: Critical Discourse Analysis: Analyzing What is Said and What is Not Said
Speaker: Rabia Khan, PhD, MS, University of British Columbia
Language is never neutral. In this session, visiting scholar Rabia Kahn introduces critical discourse analysis (CDA) — a method for examining how language in educational settings shapes meaning, power, and identity. You'll learn to look beyond what is explicitly said and start noticing what gets left out, and why that matters for educational research.
Register →Advanced: Longitudinal Qualitative Research
Speaker: Dorene Balmer, PhD
What happens when you follow the same participants over time? In this session, visiting scholar Dorene Balmer explores the foundations and rigor of longitudinal qualitative research, the key methodological decisions that shape a study, and the practical and ethical challenges that come with tracking participants, managing data, and building trustworthy findings across time.
Register →Introduction to Qualitative Methods
Speaker: Justin Bullock, MD, MPH
Not every research question can be answered with numbers. In this session, you'll learn when qualitative methods are the right fit for educational research, explore the most common data collection approaches, interviews, focus groups, and observation and get a practical introduction to analysis techniques like coding and thematic analysis
Register →Advanced: Intro to Phenomenology: Using Rich Pictures
Speaker: Annie Cravero, MD & Justin Bullock, MD, MPH
How do you capture what an experience truly feels like? This session introduces phenomenology — what it is, when to use it, and how it differs from other qualitative approaches. You'll also get a hands-on look at rich pictures, a visual tool that helps researchers surface and document the subjective dimensions of lived experience.
Register →