Students as Researchers (StAR) – Staff Project Description Form.

Thank you for taking an interest in StAR, the Students’ Union run project will offer research and development opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students within the research groups at the University of Stirling, giving them the chance to become active stake holders in the research community.

If you have a current research project that you feel a student would benefit from being involved with then please fill in the attached form and person specification and return to with the subject heading “Students as Researchers Project”. We will then upload the project to our website (stirlingstudentsunion.com) for students to apply to become a part of.

What School(s) & Department (if applicable) does the project sit within?
School of Social Sciences
What is the project title?
Re-workingFrankenstein: narratives of moral codes, challenges and changes in the field of looked after children
(PhD research)
Could this project involve more than one student? If so, how many?
Yes, there are 6 interviews that need transcribed.
A brief outline of the project and the student’s involvement.
There are many policies which attempt to push research and practice closer together. Often these are evaluated using quantitative frameworks and are closely linked with a neo-liberal cost-benefit agenda. However, social care is not easily squeezed in to such narrow variables. By following a case study of research into the symbolic use of food in residential care, in Scotland (Food for Thought) this doctoral project looks at narratives of those involved in the impact journey; particularly focusing on language and relationships. As such, some of the aims of the research are:
-To create a counter-narrative to the discourse of performance based outputs dominant in the impact agenda by including multiple voices involved in research communication
-To explore how written policy documents come alive and are constantly negotiated in practice, particularly in environments of flux
-To better understand how professional identities can frame engagement with learning opportunities
Students are invited to be part of the primary data analysis stage.
What tasks will the student be involved with? e.gLab Work, Focus Groups, Project Planning
-Transcribing
-Preliminary data analysis
-Report writing/presentation
-Individual/team work
What benefits/skills will the student gain from being involved with the project?e.g specific laboratory skills, presentation, report writingect.
The students will be able to experience first-hand some of the key milestones in analysing primary, qualitative data. Firstly, the students will need to transcribe a semi-structured interview. Then, a short analysis will be made in line with the research questions and theoretical framework of the project. This will be feedback via either a presentation or short report, depending on the preference of the student(s). There is also space to critically reflect on methods: how did the interview you transcribed flow? What could have been improved?
What will the time commitment be for this project? Please answer in Hours/Week.
The transcriptions tend to take 4 times the length of the interview i.e. if an interview is 1 hour it will take 4 hours to write up.
How long will the student be involved in the project for? Weeks, Months, Semester long?
The exact time-frame can be negotiated with the students, however, it is expected that the transcripts will be finished by the end of March 2017 and then analysis feedback sometime in April 2017.
Will the student need a PVG check? Needed if they’re working with minors or vunerable adults.
No

Person Specification.

Knowledge / Essential / Desirable
Research interest in languages and relationships / D
Interest in qualitative data analysis / E
Interest in philosophy/politics / D
Skills
Basic familiarity with Excel/Word etc. / E
Communication skills / E
Analytical Skills / E
Abilities
Professional attitude / E
Ability to work independently and as a team / E
Willingness to learn / E
Experience
Working with qualitative data / D
Interest in research / E
Good academic track-record / E
Values & Ethics
The student(s) must understand the value of confidentiality and anonymity of the research participants. / E
Commitment / E