About Me
I am an independent social researcher and death studies scholar.
I am an independent social researcher and death studies scholar. Since I began my postgraduate studies in 2006 I have focused my research and writing on different aspects of dying and death. Some of the work I have done can be found in the completed projects section.
I am currently interested in how, as a society, we manage dying and death.
My main areas of research focus are:
First
The first of these is on dying alone. Here I have explored how people sometimes come to die on their own and examine why this is seen as problematic within society.
Second
The second area of focus is about how people experience time in relation to death and dying. I have carried out research exploring how people who have been bereaved and professionals experience and think about time at the end of life.
Third
The third focus is on exploring issues of autonomy and how people living alone feel about their level of control over decision making in their own lives. I am particularly interested in how autonomous people feel that they are when it comes to making choices about the end of their life.
Fourth
The fourth area of research examines unnoticed and disregarded dying. This can happen, for example, to people who are experiencing homelessness, or people who live solitary and isolated lives. I am interested in exploring the processes of social injustice at work when such deaths occur.
Research ethics
I have a special interest in research ethics, particularly as applied to areas of work that are often considered sensitive. Between 2010 and 2017 I was an expert member of a National Health Service Research Ethics Committee. Between 2017 and 2021 I was deputy research ethics officer in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham.
Research expertise
I am a qualitative specialist. I use methods such as interviews, focus groups, observations and documentary analysis to gather data.
I am experienced in conducting research on sensitive topics, which I have been doing since 2006.
Background
I completed a degree in sociology and social policy at Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh in 2005. Between 2006 and 2009 I studied at the University of Aberdeen, completing a Master’s in social research in 2006 and a PhD in sociology in 2009.
Between 2010 and 2021 I was employed in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham, first as a research fellow, then from 2016 as a senior research fellow. I worked on a number of different research projects during that time. Information about them can be found on the completed projects page.
You will find further information and a complete list of publications on my ORCID page here: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8246-8189
I am a member of several organisations:
