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Nicola Power is Research Manager at the Bar Council

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

I had very little career ambition as a child. The typical options for girls in convent schools in Ireland were to become a nurse, teacher, nun or housewife. Of those options, becoming a nun was most attractive as my two grand-aunts were nuns in the convent school that I attended. They were dance and piano teachers and seemed very happy. Apart from that, I would have quite liked to have become a professional ballroom dancer.

When did you first turn towards a social research career?

I completed my BA in Social Sciences at Westminster University as a single mother and mature student at the ripe old age of 25. My favourite module was social research methods; I was fascinated by the concept of being able to predict outcomes and even individual behaviour from survey data and it really satisfied my natural nosiness about people in general. However I had to combine parenthood and work and so it wasn’t practical for me to pursue a career in social research. About five years later I was working for a software company analysing sales and marketing data and realised that I enjoyed the process but had little interest in the topic. I decided to do an MSc in Advanced Social Research Methods and Statistics at City University so I could make the career change.

What was your first professional job? 

My first social research job was as a research officer at ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) head office. My favourite piece of work there was interviewing bus drivers and workplace representatives for a case study on attendance management at Lothian buses. It was the first time I got out and met real people to do some qualitative face to face work, which made me feel like I was a proper social researcher. Between working at ACAS and my current job, I worked in the Employment Relations department of the Royal College of Nursing for about five years.

What has been your best professional moment?

Having my work cited as instrumental in achieving an above inflation three year pay deal for nurses working in the NHS. This was when I worked at the RCN, where all policy decisions needed to be backed up by sound evidence. I didn’t realise then that this would be a short-lived golden moment in time for professional social researchers.

...and worst?

Seeing the impact of the public sector cuts on the social research profession. Many of my good friends and colleagues have lost jobs or been made redundant and a lot of excellent skills and knowledge are being lost to social research.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?

I was a bit of a Max Weber groupee at college but I would also say that Joseph Rowntree is also hero of mine. The legacy of his commitment to raising awareness of poverty and the impact of poverty on society is still alive and kicking today.

Do you have a favourite quote?

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Hamlet, William Shakespeare

What would you say to encourage a young person today considering a social research career?

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You may not be able to rely upon a career solely in academia or policy research so try to get as much experience as you can in both early on in your career. You also may need to diversify into social policy or market research to progress in your career, or even to have an alternative career up your sleeve in case you need to work part-time as a researcher. Depressing advice I know, but probably realistic at least for the foreseeable future.  Having a topic area that really interests you is another good tip I think.

Interviewed by William Solesbury 

David Silke is Director of Research and Policy at The Housing Agency in Dublin. He is also Chair of SRA Ireland.

How did you come to social research as a career?

As the third son of a farmer, primogeniture was going to deny me that career option. So I read social science at University College, Dublin. At that stage I had social work in mind as a career. But I got more interested in research and policy, an interest confirmed by taking a Masters in Social Policy at LSE.

What was your first professional job?

This was in the Analytical Services Division at what was then the Department of Social Security in London, working chiefly on disability welfare issues.  It was a good training in research commissioning and management, and experience of the policy impact of social research.  After three years I returned to Dublin (and marriage) and freelanced for some years. Then took a job with the Irish Combat Poverty Agency, and later with the National Economic and Social Forum (an in-house think tank in the Prime Minister’s department) and then the Centre for Housing Research that merged into The Housing Agency where I now work.

What do you enjoy most in your work?

I take great pleasure and pride in bringing a project to completion. I think that this satisfaction relates to my need to be under pressure to work well.

A favourite quote?

Knowledge is power – Francis Bacon.

What would you advise a social researcher at the start of their career?

To get as diverse experience as possible – researching different topics, using the full range of methods, experiencing the roles of designing, conducting, managing and communicating research.  That way you’ll find your strengths and  have more opportunities to advance your career.

Interview by William Solesbury

December 2011

Jude England is Head of Social Science at the British Library.

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

Three things: a forensic scientist, a vet, an air hostess.

When did you first turn towards a social research career?

I was drawn to sociology at school. My North London comprehensive was pretty unique at that time in offering Sociology at GSE as well as A level. Then on to Sociology at university.

What was your first professional job? 

In the Social Survey Division at OPCS (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for younger readers, now ONS) working on survey design, checking returned questionnaires and primary analysis.

What followed before you came to the BL?

Many jobs – as a Research Assistant at LSE (on a project on the profile of National Front supporters), five years or so at SCPR, now NatCen (on a wide variety of projects – my formative experience), in a succession of research consultancies in the employee relations and communications fields, a period of freelancing, then five years at ECOTEC Research and Consulting (doing social policy research and consultancy, latterly leading on children and young people). Then the BL beckoned.

What does your BL role involve?

I came in 2006 to a new post with a new department, the response to a conviction that the awareness and usefulness of the Library to the broad social science community wasn’t as strong as it could be.  Now we work on three priorities:  developing the collection, increasingly with digital material; improving access and services for social science users; and helping to build capacity – for PhD students, for researchers in general and for the public, for whom our exhibitions and lectures are important.

In your work what has given you the most satisfaction?

I’ve always welcomed breadth of experience.  The range of research I’ve done has been enormous, from investigating benefit take-up, to visits to coalmines and breweries, to views on surgical footwear, focus groups in pubs looking at the working conditions of pub staff and work with children as researchers.  It’s not just the variety per se that pleases; it’s that all these experiences provide lessons transferable to other work.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?

I have to name Jane Richie. She was my boss and mentor at SCPR who taught me so much about how to design, conduct and manage research and clients – and have lots of fun in the process.

What would your advice be to new social researchers?

You must do fieldwork.  You can’t be a real social researcher until you’ve walked up a path to a front door wondering what you’re going to hear and find out about when the door opens…

Interview by William Solesbury, November 2011

Malcolm Rigg is Director of the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) at the University of Westminster, and also leads the Masters course in Applied Social and Market Research there.

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

I didn’t want to be a teacher mainly because both my parents were. It’s an irony that I’m now teaching and thoroughly enjoying it.

When did you first turn towards a social research career?

I worked as an interviewer on a large Oxford Transportation study as a holiday job when I was 16. My first interview was with someone who said he was coming from his home and going to his home. He turned out to be a hereditary peer coming from the Lords to his estate. I began to think that there was something rather interesting about research.

What was your first professional job? And first project there?

On my Business Studies degree, I did a sandwich year at IFF Research. Business Studies then was studying the core social sciences: economics, sociology, psychology, social psychology, law and politics. The first project that I ran myself (there were only half a dozen staff) was a very sexy study of awareness and use of plastic dustbins within local authorities. It marked the beginning of the end for the clattering and clanging of metal bins.

How did your career go after that?

I spent six years at PSI as a Senior Research Fellow, focusing on employment and training issues. I was Head of Public Interest Research at the Consumers’ Association, publishers of 'Which?'. After that a spell in government as Director of Research at the Central Office of Information. I joined BMRB International as Director of Social Research in 1997, and became Managing Director in 2002.  I returned to PSI as Director in 2004.

What has been your best professional moment?

The best was probably the intense times working with a team on the evaluation of schemes like the Sports Council’s community sport initiative, Action Sport. It required getting immersed in a complex array of neighbourhood projects and working collectively, using a wide range of methods to tease out the essence of the schemes, the models they were premised on, and the dynamics that unfolded.

In your work what gives you the most satisfaction?

I’ve always enjoyed the hunt, so to speak, in winning new projects, but I’m just as interested in supporting researchers to develop and grow. It’s always great to meet researchers who learnt their research through the BMRB graduate scheme. That’s one of the main reasons why I have taken over running the Masters in Applied Social and Market Research at the University of Westminster which is now based within PSI.

Do you have a favourite quote?

"All that is solid melts into air…"  Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto

Who is you social research hero/heroine?

Several! I’d have to include Andrew McIntosh (who owned and ran IFF) and Michael White (at PSI) who mentored me in the art and craft of survey design, analysis and reporting. However, my real life research heroine is my wife, Lesley Saunders, formerly of NFER, more recently at the General Teaching Council and now a freelance researcher – she has a deep understanding of research and we spend endless hours debating and arguing about research and politics. She writes wonderful poetry too!  We have lived next door to each other for 30 years!

What would your advice be to new social researchers?

I think that research is a calling. I would say if you’re deeply curious and caring about society then social policy may be for you, but think carefully before labelling yourself as one kind of researcher or another. Research requires an open mind, and too many researchers define their interests and position too narrowly. When PSI was set up as PEP in 1931, the job spec merely called for people who were highly intelligent and could write: these would still be near the top of my list. Ensure that you place ethics at the heart of your practice. Seek out a mentor. And listen to the Today Programme every morning so that you know and think about what’s happening in the world.

Interview by William Solesbury, October 2011

Nick Ockenden is Director of the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR). 

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

A wildlife photographer – partly from the influence of my grandfather.  This led to thoughts of reading Zoology at university but in the end I went for Geography.  But I’m still keen on photography and have just treated myself to a new camera.

When did you first turn towards a social research career? 

In my Master’s course I did a dissertation on community gardens in New York, working out of the Mayor’s office.  That fired a combined interest in research, environmentalism and volunteer action.

What was your first professional job?  And first project there?

Following that up, my first job back in the UK in 2001 was with an NGO called GreenSpace. And the project was a combination of research, support and advice for community organisations set up to act as ‘friends’ of local parks.  Then in 2005 I moved from there to the IVR, initially as a Research Officer, then as Head of Research, and finally as Director

What has been your best professional moment?

Last year I co-authored a contribution to a book called ‘Hybrid Organizations and the Third Sector. Challenges for Practice, Theory and Policy’. Our chapter explored the position and influence of volunteers within organisations that blur the boundaries between the public, private and voluntary sectors. There is something seductively attractive about seeing your thoughts in print.

...and worst?

At a conference in Italy, my presentation had been well received. But it was not a good idea to be flattered by the conference organiser’s invitation to go mountaineering afterwards – without  suitable clothing.

In your work what gives you the most satisfaction?

Two things. First, the opportunity to do fieldwork talking to volunteers about their experiences, which are often moving and humbling.  Second, knowing that a client for research has accepted and acted upon your recommendations.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?

I am a  great fan of the US academic David Horton Smith who has researched grassroots organisations - largely a neglected field. I have met him, read his work and he has advised us at the Institute.

What would your advice be to new social researchers?

Follow your own interests in choosing a field to work in. And don’t be afraid to become a specialist in it.

Interview by William Solesbury October 2011

Ivana La Valle is Director of the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) Research Centre in London.

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to join the circus – perhaps the urge for an itinerant life that later brought me fromItaly, where I was born, toLondon!

When did you first turn towards a social research career?

My first degree atCityUniversitywas in Politics. But it was the Research Methods module that really excited me, since – in comparison, say, with political philosophy – it held out the promise of practical application. So I then did a Masters in Research Methods at the Open University while working in adult education in Hackney.

What was your first professional research job?

This was at theUniversityofEast Londonworking as the Research Assistant on a project on the career paths of social workers. It gave me immense admiration for their work.  After that I went to theInstituteofEmployment StudiesatSussexUniversity. Then next I joined the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) where I stayed for 11 years.  There I built up – with support and encouragement from Norman Glass, the Director – the Family and Children Group which, uniquely for NatCen at that time, had a specific policy focus which it addressed through mixed methods.

What has been your best professional moment?

Undoubtedly my move to NCB two years ago. What I value is the contact with professionals  and policy thinkers in the organisation. For example, NCB was instrumental in developing the Sure Start centre concept. I strongly believe that effective changes in policy or practice come from the close association of researchers with practitioners.

...and worst?

Not a personal moment, but I do regret the steady devaluation of professional research skills that seems underway.  The term ‘research’ is applied too casually to poor quality work that just generates some numbers that hit the headlines.  It is not sufficient to just use some online survey tool that requires no reflection on, for example, sample or question design.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?

Roger Jowell. Not just as joint founder and long term Director of NatCen, but also for his passion for quality in research work and his skills as a communicator.

What would be your advice to young social researchers?

Two things. First, early in your career work for an organisation with high standards that will subject your work to friendly critical review so that you learn from experience.  And secondly never lose sight of the application of your research and how it can inform and help practitioners do their work. We do not do social research just for its own sake.

Interview by William Solesbury August 2011

Simon is co-owner and director of Glasgow-based social research and consulting firm FMR Research Ltd, a Visiting Fellow at Durham Business School and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Marketing at the University of Strathclyde. He is also Book Reviews Editor for SRA News. 

What was your childhood ambition?

I don’t believe I had strong ambitions as a child.  I was good at sciences at school and my father was an engineer, so studying Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough seemed a logical step. But after 12 months I realised that engineering would not be my vocation.

When did a social research career hove into view?

In 1992 I moved to Scotland with consulting firm DHP to set up the firm’s Scottish operations.  I found myself leading on public sector consultancy projects, in contrast to my largely private sector experience up until then.  Later in the 1990s I did a PhD in social science at the University of Strathclyde.  After that I was hooked.

How many jobs have you had?

My first proper job was for Perkins Engines (found in most Massey Ferguson tractors and JCB diggers) initially as a Market Analyst, than as a Marketing Manager.  Then three years as Marketing Manager within the Northern Engineering Industries group in Newcastle until made redundant through corporate re-structuring. At the age of 29 I vowed never to work for a corporate again. My next six months were spent as a self employed antiques trader – not very successfully since I tended to want to keep all the best stuff.

For a change I then applied my experience and skills as Marketing Director of the DHP consultancy, at the same time enrolling on the Executive MBA at Durham Business School. Three years later I enrolled for the PhD, leaving DHP to become a self-employed researcher and consultant, simplifying my working life as much as possible (no staff, no growth ambitions, just some very good clients) in order to create the funds and flexibility to complete a PhD while still putting bread on the table.  Since then this has grown into FMR Research Ltd.

What was your best professional moment?

More of a surprise than a planned achievement.  This was my firm’s work on support for asylum seekers in the UK, commissioned by a Scottish regional body, but quoted in a parliamentary debate. Probably everyone working in social research wants to feel they are making a difference and on this occasion I like to think we did.

…and worst? 

I expect this is the same as for other people running research and consulting firms, it is having to let people go.  I had to do this in the previous recession as well.  Doesn’t make it easier.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?

An easy question to answer - Dr Barney Glaser, the co-originator of grounded theory method.  I met Barney several times during the course of my PhD and my supervisor was one of his acolytes. I found his perspectives a breath of fresh air. I bought into his logic in understanding social processes.  I’d heard, and I hope that this is true, that Barney once established a bank, having worked out the social processes between a bank and its clients.  Something to do with ‘front’.  I can’t help but admire people at the top of their game and especially those with a bent towards the unconventional.

If/when you get on Desert Island Discs, what will be your book and what your luxury?

The book would be Robin Harvie’s ‘Why We Run: a story of obsession.’ It ticks the boxes on several levels and it sits there as a pleasure currently postponed.  The luxury would be my DJ Kit.  Uninterrupted time with a few boxes of 12" vinyl, my tricked Technics 1210s, and Allen and Heath mixer would be, er, nice.

Interview by William Solesbury, July 2011

Richard Bartholomew is Chief Research Officer at the Department for Education, and Joint Head of Government Social Research.

How did you come to choose a social research career?
After undergrad and master’s degrees in sociology, I wanted to work on public policy issues - I’d specialised in political sociology so had a natural interest in how government worked in practice.

What was your first professional job? And first project there?
In 1979 (just after Mrs Thatcher had come to power) I took a Research Officer job with the Manpower Services Commission, the quango then running work placement and work experience programmes for young people and the adult unemployed. My first task was working on a major quantitative survey of the long-term unemployed – the first of its kind for several decades. As a very young sociologist I was overawed when the great Michael Young phoned me up to discuss the results.

And your later career?
I've stayed in government social research. First researching on employment and training, then equal opportunities and later with departmental changes, on early years education, and now on children’s services. I find this a challenging but very worthwhile field to work in.

What has been the biggest professional challenge you’ve faced?
As a fairly junior researcher trying to persuade some hard-nosed benefit fraud investigators to participate in a study of suspected fraudulent claimants using random assignment. We were trying to measure the cost savings made by fraud investigation. The proposal that they should not investigate some suspected fraudsters, for the sake of the research design, ran up against all their instincts. They were an immovable force.

What gives you the most satisfaction in your work?
Finding out things that are counter-intuitive, things which challenge what everyone assumes to be true – a strong justification for social research.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?
Neville Butler, who was instrumental – through his vision and sheer persistence – in creating the 1958 and 1970 Birth Cohort studies, and also a driving force behind the Millennium Cohort Study. Without his determination, British social science would be in a much poorer place.

Do you have a favourite quote?
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s famous response to a question about the biggest challenge he had faced as a statesman – ‘Events, my dear boy, events.’ It’s a reality check to researchers’ faith in the persuasiveness of evidence alone but also neatly conveys the often decisive role of the chance coincidence of events – for good or ill.

How would you complete the sentence ‘At heart, I’m…’
At heart I’m infinitely curious about most things – with the significant exception of sport.

What would be your advice to anyone considering a social research career?
If you are fascinated by how and why social change happens and want to have the chance to influence it, then you should consider social research as a career. (But try and also marry into money as a back up plan!).

Interview by William Solesbury July 2011

Ceridwen Roberts is currently a Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Policy and Interventions, Oxford University, and Commissioning Editor, SRA News.

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a little girl a ballerina (I wanted to go to Russia!).  By the time I was 11,  Minister of Education.

When did you first turn towards a social research career?

At school I began reading books about the role of education in social mobility. This was the era of debates about promoting comprehensive schools and  there was a family background to this in my father’s life. And mine was a very politically alert upbringing. But at Sussex University I opted for History as a general education, then Industrial Sociology at Bristol and Imperial College.

What was your first professional job?

Lecturer in Industrial Sociology at Trent Polytechnic. In at the deep end, teaching on a Business Studies course, with only two women in a teaching staff of 42 plus one PA/admin person. Outside the work, I got involved in the local women’s movement.

Where did your career go next?

In the late 1970s I joined the new Social Science Branch in the Department of Employment where I stayed for 14 years.  Here I was initially responsible for developing a very large programme of research on women in the labour market.

What has been your best professional moment?

Publication by DEmp, in 1984, of the Women in Employment survey which was the first ever to look at women’s lifetime employment experience. This provided evidence relevant to concerns with equal pay, maternity benefits and (then often disguised) female unemployment.  After that there was no turning back on research in this field.

...and worst moment?

Closure in 2001 of the Family Policy Studies Centre that I had directed since 1992.  Its mixed funding had always been precarious. But the final straw was New Labour’s wish to establish and fund a rival organisation – The  National Family and Parenting Institute. An all too familiar story of the casual destruction of independent social research capacity.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?

C.Wright Mills, American author of The Sociological Imagination (1959).

Do you have a favourite quote?

Two. "Private troubles become public issues" – C Wright Mills again. And "Speak Truth to Power" – which may have originated with Erich Fromm in his book The Fear of Freedom (1941) but there are many other sources of the phrase.

What would you say to encourage a young person today considering a social research career?

It will be intellectually challenging, not always comfortable and you won’t make a quick buck. But if you have that passion for social inquiry, go for it!

Interview with William Solesbury, May 2011