Research Fellow - Department of Social Work & Social Care

Position Details

Department of Social Work and Social Care

School of Social Policy

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,942 to £33,797, with potential progression once in post to £40,322.

Grade 7

Full Time Fixed Term Contract for up to 60 months / 5 years

Closing date - 15th November 2019

Background

This post is to work as part of the core research team on a 5 year, £1.4 million, Wllcome Trust funded interdisciplinary research project investigating the role of shame in medicine. We will investigate shame's role in medicine, pioneer novel and ambitious research into the concept of shame, the experience of shame, and cultures of shame in a variety of contemporary healthcare contexts. While this project involves the University of Birmingham, the University of Exeter, and Trinity College Dublin, this post will be based at the University of Birmingham, undertaking empirical research into the role of shame in medicine.

Role Summary

• This role will work alongside other core research team members on the project and in particular closely with the project staff at the University of Birmingham to:
• plan and undertake empirical research into shame and medicine
• outline and gain ethical approval for the research
• engage and recruit participants
• collect and analyse data
• write academic outputs
• present and explain findings to academic and practitioner audiences
• working with the project administrator and team members to organize an international conference and other smaller events

Working within a wider research project team will also involve:

• attending meetings, some of which will be hosted outside of Birmingham and may involve overnight stays
• liaising with staff, collaborators, and stakeholders of the research
• working with the project's creative facilitator
• working closely with research team members from other disciplines, including medical humanities, philosophy, medicine, literary studies and visual cultures studies
• coordinating meetings
• producing progress reports
• presenting developing findings
• attending to, and ensuring, effective administration of research activities

Main duties and responsibilities

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Undertaking literature reviews
• Developing the research design and methodology
• Developing a plan to manage the ethical issues arising from the research
• Contributing to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Using qualitative research methods to generate data; specifically the use of diaries, the Critical Incident Technique, and interviews
• Using Constructivist Grounded Theory as an approach to analyse and interpret data
• Providing guidance, as required, to support staff who may be assisting with the research
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at team meetings, seminars, and as posters
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Co-writing articles, presentations with members from the project team, potentially from other disciplines
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications and Experience Required

• First degree that is relevant to the project, such as in psychology, sociology, or social science
• A higher degree (e.g. PhD) relevant to undertaking social research involving qualitative data collection and analysis
• Experience in undertaking qualitative research in medical or healthcare contexts
• Experience in writing research findings for academic outputs
• High level analytical capability
• Excellent organization skills
• Ability to work to deadlines
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly in both written form and in presentations (Including a very high standard of written and spoken English)
• The ability to develop constructive and efficient working relationships with people at all levels within an organisation, demonstrating an understanding of their perspectives, priorities and expectations.
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others
• Ideally, the candidate will have experience working in an interdisciplinary team and an interest in medical and health humanities research.

Informal enquires to Matthew Gibbs email: m.j.gibson.1@bham.ac.uk phone: 0121 415 8028

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