Research Profile
Prof Amanda Coffey
Telephone:+44 (0)29 208 75501
Fax:+44 (0)29 208 74175
Extension:75501
Additional
contact info:
Address:2.09 Glamorgan Building
Research Interests
My research interests are underpinned by a sustained, critical methodological engagement with ethnographic and qualitative research. This includes work on contemporary developments in qualitative data analysis, writing and representation, as well as a focus on of the self and (auto)biography in qualitative inquiry. I have led and been involved in a number of funded projects focussing on qualitative research methods and methodological development. I am currently the Director of the Cardiff Node of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences: Innovation, Integration and Impact (QUALITI) (2005-8).
I have a number of substantive research interests that intersect sociology, social policy and education. My empirical research has included work on;
- Young people and social change: A main focus of my research in this area has been the role of informal learning contexts in contemporary debates about citizenship education. This work has also focussed on transitions to adulthood, young people’s biographies in the context of community transformation, and learning-through-leisure. Other interests include the relationships between education, social justice and wider issues of social change.
- Gender and education: My interests in this area include educational experiences and autobiographies, as well as initial teacher education, teacher careers and exploring relationships between feminism, teaching, methodology and pedagogy.
- Working lives: My research in this area has included work on professional and occupational socialization and the experience of work, as well as gender and equality issues in the context of training and career development. This has included collaborative work on the European steel industry. Working papers 52 - 60 and working papers 61 - 63.
Current and Recent Research
My current research commitments include:
- Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences: Innovation, Integration and Impact (QUALITI). This is funded as a node (the Cardiff Node) of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM). I am currently the director of Qualiti (2005-8).
- Locality, Biography and Youth in a Transforming Community (with Tom Hall and Brett Lashua) Funded by the ESRC, this project is exploring the links between locality, community and biography for young people in areas undergoing economic and social transformation.
Recently completed awards include;
- Methodological Issues in Qualitative Data Sharing and Archiving (with Bella Dicks, Matthew Williams and Bruce Mason). This was funded as part of QUADS - the ESRC Qualitative Archiving and Data Sharing Scheme. This project considering the ways in which the archiving, distribution and sharing of multimedia qualitative datasets may impact upon research design and practice.
- Ethnography for the Digital Age. This project explored the potential of utilizing a hypermedia approach to ethnographic data collection, analysis and authoring. This project was funded as part of the UK Economic and Social Research Council Research Methods Programme.