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Role Description

School/Service: Health and Life Sciences

Role Title:Research Associate/Senior Research Assistant in Applied Qualitative Health Research

Grade:6 or 5 dependent upon experience

Category: Research

Job Purpose: The post-holder will be based in the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Northumbria University. S/he will work with a multi-disciplinary team to evaluate the implementation of a new electronic care plan for patients at the end of life. The aim of this care plan is for health and social care professionals to access information about patients at end of life in real time, using innovative IT software that creates new configurations of sharing data. The implementation of this care plan is a dynamic process and an evaluation of this process will enable us to gain an understanding of the professional and organisational factors that promote or inhibit the acceptability, usefulness and integration into service delivery and everyday practice. The project will involve qualitative methods, including focus groups, interviews and observational fieldwork so candidates with experience of these methods is essential.

Responsible to:Dr Katie Brittain

Key Responsibilities:

  1. To plan and conduct qualitative research including:
  2. Face-to-face interviews with research participants (including people at end of life, their families and health and social care professionals).
  3. Focus groups with research participants (including health and social care professionals).
  4. Observational fieldwork.
  5. To maintain and analyse qualitative data transcripts using Nvivo software.
  6. To work within the team to ensure that this project is completed on time, to budget and that information is disseminated appropriately.
  7. To draft papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals; to draft project summaries suitable for lay audiences.
  8. To attend meetings and other events appropriate to the project and give progress reports as required.
  9. To take an active role in disseminating the research findings to a wide range of audiences, including professionals, policy makers, third sector and lay people. To contribute to the preparation of reports and papers for presentation at national and international conferences and meetings.
  10. To be aware of and comply with, research governance and data protection legislation; and to ensure that research activity, data collection and management comply with these demands. This includes following procedures in accordance with Good Clinical Practice guidelines when participants are not able to give informed consent.
  11. In collaboration with senior staff, to identify and undertake a programme of professional development, including further training in research methods and other transferable skills.
  12. To contribute to the development of the research team with respect to the development of research as an active team member.
  13. To contribute to activities associated with the running and administration of the Department, or perform other duties as required by the Head of Department.
  1. Location:

Northumbria University, Coach Lane Campus

  1. Start Date:

1stJanuary 2018 or as soon as possible thereafter

  1. Attendance Requirements:

The post is 100% fte

Additional Information

Travelling for data collection and meetings is required.

Person Specification

E/D / A/I
1. / Specific Knowledge
Excellent knowledge of ethnographic methods for applied health research / E / A/I
A knowledge of the skills and techniques needed for literature searching / E / A/I
Excellent knowledge of state-of-the-art research in end of life care / D / A/I
Knowledge and use of NPT (Normalisation Process Theory) in evaluation studies / D / A/I
2. / Skills and Abilities
Excellent communication skills / E / I
The ability to write for academic journals, public and practitioner audiences / E / A/I
Ability to carry out research within agreed timelines, meeting project milestones and producing research to an appropriate standard / E / A/I
Ability to maintain confidentiality / E / A/I
Good administrative and organisational skills / E / A/I
Ability to work flexibly and co-operatively with others, but also to work independently / E / A/I
Excellent interpersonal skills / E / A/I
Excellent IT skills, including use of Nvivo for qualitative data analysis. / E / A/I
3. / Experience
A history of published journal articlesin social science and/or health related journals / E (Grade 6)
D (Grade 5) / A
Successful completion of qualitative research studies / E / A/I
Experience of collecting and analysing qualitative research data in applied health research (e.g. undertaking interviews/focus groups) / E / A/I
Experience of research involving vulnerable populations / E / A/I
Experience of participant recruitment and ethics submissions / E / A/I
Experience of working in teams / E / A/I
Experience of doing ethnography / D / A/I
4. / Education/Training
APhD in social science (sociology, social gerontology) / E (Grade 6)
D (Grade 5) / A
An undergraduate degree in a relevant field of social science (e.g. applied psychology, social gerontology). / E / A

Legend:

E= Essential

D = Desirable

A= Application Form

I = Interview