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Research Methods Centre
A collection of books from the School of Government and International Affairs

Picturing Research: a DRMC Competition 2025/26

26 February 2026
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Person fishing in sinking boat in Bangladesh

Following the success of previous year's competitions, the Durham Research Methods Centre invites research staff and postgraduate (PGT and PGR) researchers to submit a pictorial representation of their research to the Picturing Research competition.

Picturing Research is a Durham Research Methods Centre (DRMC) online competition showcasing research conducted by researchers at Durham University. It is an opportunity to extend the reach of research to wider publics and different means of communication.

The competition aims to highlight the contributions and impact of Durham researchers to society, locally and globally.

Inspired by the focus of the DRMC on “designing novel methods to tackle complex, real-world challenges’, the competition focuses on:

  • Interdisciplinarity
  • Innovative research
  • Engaging community

 

The idea is very straightforward: capture/represent your research in one image/photo with the support of a 100-word description.

Photos and a description are submitted online via this link.

Deadline for submissions – Tuesday 7th April 2026, 5pm

By submitting a picture to the competition, participants agree for it to be displayed online for the purpose of the competition.

This year the competition will award the three most popular pictures.

Award: £100 voucher per award.

The vote will take place after all submissions have been reviewed, accepted and displayed online. The top three most voted submissions will be announced on Thursday 14th May 2026 at the DRMC Christine Merrell Annual Methods Lecture.

 

Competition guidelines:  

  • The competition is open to researchers of all stages of career (including PGT and PGR researchers) working and studying at Durham University. 
  • Only one submission per candidate will be accepted.  
  • Submissions must be based on researchers’ current research, or recently concluded research project. 
  • Submissions are to be made via the online form created for the competition.   
  • Descriptions should be written in plain English, targeted at a non-specialist audience. 
  • Submissions are applicants’ own creations. This should be stated when submitting your submission. AI generated images will not be accepted.
  • By submitting a picture to the competition, applicants agree for it to be displayed online and in other exhibition formats for the purpose of the competition and the showcasing of the University’s research capacity.
  • Submission after the deadline will not be considered.