Final TIMED workshop in Barcelona: Designing research and telling its story

On 2nd and 3rd October 2025, the TIMED team gathered one last time face-to-face for a two-day workshop in Barcelona to learn about and discuss not only how to design and conduct impactful research but also how to tell its story.

Organised by TIMED Principal Investigator Prof Núria Codina and her team, the workshop brought together five experts in quantitative methods and science communication who delivered hands-on training sessions. The presenters shared their insights and stimulated discussion on the role of factorial design of variance in quasi-experimental and longitudinal research, the application of time use diaries in research, effective science communication, the development of communication plans for science dissemination and digital content creation.

Hosting, event organization and more

The event was hosted by the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Barcelona and organised by the TIMED team members Prof Núria Codina, Georgina Giner, Dr José Vicente Pestana, Dr María Marentes and Dr Rafael Valenzuela. The photographer and TIMED researcher Katarzyna Goncikowska kindly documented the workshop by taking well-thought-out photographs of speakers, participants and  workshop activities. The organisers ensured a flawless delivery of the event and took charge of tasks such as the development of the workshop programme, the invitation of all workshop speakers or the preparation and organisation of the venue. Funded by CHANSE, the workshop took place on the beautiful Mundet campus of the University of Barcelona.

Snapshots of our event

Dr María Marentes: Back to basics: Factorial design of variance applied to quasi-experimental and longitudinal research

“Valid results come from an adequate research design” María Marentes

Dr Marentes delivered a detailed overview of factorial designs, their advantages and ways of applying them to a variety of research questions. Her training session allowed participants to reflect on and define an appropriate research design for their own topics of investigation. Listeners gained insight into how to analyse multivariate data effectively, the power of analysis of variance and its various applications. The postdoctoral researcher concluded with the important observation that data collection has to be preceded by the careful choice and establishment of the study design.

Dr Elena Mylona: What are time diaries and how can they be used? A short introduction to time use research

“Time use studies help us understand what activities people do week-to-week, or day-to-day, and how much enjoyment they take from what they engage in” Elena Mylona

Dr Mylona provided a compelling account of the benefits of time diaries and their role in the investigation of how time is allocated to everyday activities, how much of it is spent on each activity and how time use relates to contextual information, such as subjective enjoyment of the activity, simultaneous device use or location. The speaker provided examples of time use studies exploring important topics highly relevant for population wellbeing, such as the amount of time spent on physical activity across the course of the COVID-19 pandemic or the perception of time pressure over a span of 15 years. The audience was also introduced to the methodology of time use research, including a new research tool, i.e. the Extended Light Diary Digital Instrument, which is currently being developed by the Centre for Time Use Research in collaboration with the Oxford Internet Institute.

Dr Luz Calvo: Communicating science with impact: Infographics, posters and more

“A well-crafted message is more important than any layout design” Derek Crowe, cited by Luz Calvo

Dr Calvo delivered an impactful and enlightening training session on effective science communication through data visualisation, carefully crafted storytelling and the design of clear and accessible messages using tools such as the Minto Pyramid Principle. Stressing the importance of memorability and comprehensibility of any communication output, Dr Calvo’s presentation effectively exemplified these principles by showing the audience graphics, charts and pictograms that rapidly conveyed essential research findings in an easy-to-understand way. The importance of communicating the “big picture”, knowing our audience and carefully choosing how data is represented was highlighted.

Dr Ángela Castrechini: Communicating science

“Science communication is about making knowledge accessible, engaging, and useful for society” Ángela Castrechini

In an insightful and comprehensive presentation, Dr Castrechini introduced listeners to the development of communication plans for the dissemination of research outputs. She provided practical, step-by-step instructions on how to design an effective plan, which included the definition of objectives for communication, the identification of the target audience, the choice of the right communication channels, the development of messages and materials, and the evaluation of the plan. In order to facilitate the creation of science communication content, Dr Castrechini also presented various time-saving ways in which AI tools can help to craft and fine-tune messages, e.g. through drafting, simplifying, visualising or personalising content.  

Dr Juanjo Botè: Towards digital content creation for research projects

“From raw tables to dissemination: Let’s simplify the data” Juanjo Botè

The training session delivered by Dr Botè showcased a variety of excellent methods and tools to transform scientific results into accessible and multilingual resources. Participants gained hands-on experience in the use of Datawrapper to visualise raw data and create clear and easy-to-understand charts. In addition, Dr Botè introduced the audience to the strategic use of AI tools ranging from ChatGPT to Copilot and Gemini. He vividly exemplified how to simplify outputs, such as posters, adapt them for a non-academic audience, generate quick summaries of their content or translate them easily. The dissemination of research, e.g. via Zenodo was also explained and exemplified in an accessible and effective way.

Post-event activities

Following the hands-on training sessions, the TIMED research team actively worked together to discuss and try out the digital tools presented, create the first infographics for dissemination of the findings generated within the TIMED project and devise a plan for the production of further accessible and easy-to-understand outputs aimed at the general public. Fruitful exchanges over lunch and dinner led to additional ideas of how to tell the story of TIMED, extend our emerging research network (COST action) Investigating wellbeing and time experience in the digital age and continue the valuable networking and research activities which we have had a chance to undertake as part of TIMED. The workshop concluded with a guided walking tour in Barcelona, which represented a final excellent opportunity to network and lay the groundwork for further research collaborations.