Presentation about careers in social research from the Institute of Employment Studies, December 2018

1. Introduction to Research Careers
Emma Pollard, James Cockett and Anneka Dawson
An insider’s guide

2.  Applying social science research methods
and theories learnt from a variety of social
science disciplines to real world problems
 There are so many social science disciplines
Demography and Social Statistics, Methods and Computing;
Development Studies, Human Geography and Environmental Planning;
Economics; Management and Business Studies; Education; Social
Anthropology; Linguistics; Law; Economic and Social History; Politics
and International Relations; Psychology and Sociology and Social
Policy and Social Work.
What is social research?

3.  Collecting and assessing
evidence
 Looking at what works/
what doesn’t (and how)
 Improving understanding
 Testing theories
 Looking for impact
Aims of social research?

4.  Academic: develop new knowledge, generally not client
driven, can be theoretical, discipline specific, lengthy
 Corporate/consultancy: providing expert advice, helping
organisations to solve operational problems, small scale
to large scale
 Applied: answering questions about real world
social problems, support development of social
policy
 Market/Consumer research: surveys and polls on
consumer preferences/behaviour, to understand the
market for a product or service, guide business
decisions
Types of social research

6.  Multi-disciplinary research institute
 Not-for-profit, independent
 Projects based on commissions
 Collaborative working environment
 Permanent staff
 Founded in 1968
 Brighton based
IES about us

7.  Client focused
 Attend to quality and accuracy at appropriate level of
detail
 Undertake rigorous evaluation and evidence-based
research
 Promote use of high quality evidence in policy
formulation
 Share learning information & knowledge
 Treat everyone with fairness and respect
Aim to bring about sustainable improvements
in public employment policy and HR practice
IES Core Values

8.  Education and the path to employment
 Higher education and graduates
 Equality and diversity
 Health, work and wellbeing
 Unemployment and welfare
 Workforce planning and labour market change
 Pay and reward
 …and many more!
Themes of research at IES

9.  NatCen
 CIPD
 Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
 National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR)
 BMG Research
 National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
 Work Foundation
 Learning and Work Institute (L&W)
 Ecorys
 Large corporate firms (Deloitte etc.)
Other organisations

10.  Department for Education
(DfE)
 Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial
Strategy (BEIS)
 Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP)
 NHS Employers
 MIND
 Oxfam
 European Commission
 European Foundation for
the Improvement of Living
and Working Conditions
(Eurofound)
 KPMG
 JP Morgan Chase
Foundation
 Foods Standard Agency
…and many more!
Clients

11.  Analytical thinking
 Critical appraisal
 Good written and verbal communication
 Team working
 Organisational skills
 Independence
 Numerical skills are desirable
 Attention to detail/accuracy
 Curiosity
 Empathy
Skills and attributes

12.  Survey of EU Staff in Higher education (DfE)
 Evaluation of mental health training in the
Blue Light sector (MIND)
 Experiences of homeless young people in
precarious employment (Centrepoint)
 Progression in Employment (PiE) (JPMorgan Chase
Foundation)
 Teachers' and leaders' views on the pay framework (DfE)
 What works in colleges? (CEC)
 Understanding mature entrants’ transitions to PG study (BIS)
Examples of projects

13.  October 2013 to October 2014
 Fall in PG numbers affecting skills pipeline
 Understand motivations, opportunities and challenges facing PG students
 Literature review, sample development, online survey of PG students, online
consultation with admissions tutors, interviews
 Different categories of PG students
 Self funding or employer funding critical
 Numerous barriers
 Younger PGT students faced particular challenges
 Need for cheaper and/or more flexible fees + additional sources of funding
 Used to develop Master’s degree loan
Further details

14.  Free movement will not end with this deal – and this is welcome
news
 Artificial intelligence and HR: is a mindset shift needed?
 Effective careers guidance in colleges: new IES research identifies
best practice
 Ethnicity: can the gender pay gap trick be repeated?
 Stress and mental health at work: half a decade in policy and
practice
 A big juggle: what can employers and policymakers do to support
working carers?
 Returning to work after having a child: how families make decisions
 Sickness absence falls, but is there a sting in the tail?
Recent IES blogs

15.  Business Studies at Brighton
 Interested in HR – career aim
 Job at Sussex CDU (2 years)
 Moved to IES – employer-based work
 Shifted to focus on policy work
 MA in Applied Policy Studies at Sussex
 Key interests are student/graduate decision-making and
experiences, working of HE, graduate/professional careers
 Developed my career at IES
 Now Principal Research Fellow – lead an area of work
Emma

16.  Enjoyed maths from a young age
 Economics at Sussex
 Interested in Finance
 Junior Research Associate scheme
 Active US data insight coordinator
 Joined IES July 2017
 Research Economist
 Quantitative labour market analysis
 Key interests include microeconomics with a focus on
education (FE and HE) and barriers facing disadvantaged
groups in the labour market
James

17.  Studied 3 degrees at Sussex in psychology
 Worked at Sussex in student accounts, associate tutor and research
assistant
 Did an internship at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations
 Worked at National Foundation for Education Research as RO and
RM
 Moved to Education Endowment Foundation worked as evaluation
manager and senior evaluation manager
 Started in IES in 2018 to start new research area of pre-16
education as a Principal Research Fellow
 Key interests are early years education, what works in education
and parental engagement with education
Anneka

18. Positives
 Real life application
 Impact on peoples lives
 Continual learning process
 Variety
 Meet interesting people
 Dedicated and enthusiastic
colleagues
 Develop own interests
 Flexible working (as long as
the job gets done!)
Not quite so positive
 Not a high earning career
 Uneven workload (requires
organisation)
 Specialisms hard to find
Is social research for you?

19.  Research Officer
 Research Fellow
 Senior Research Fellow
 Principal Research Fellow
 Director
Career pathway- IES

20.  Interviews
 Focus groups
 Literature reviews
 Quantitative & Qualitative data
analysis
 Organise workload and meet
project deadlines
 Working unsupervised
A day in the life of a Research Officer

21. All the roles of a Research
Officer plus…
 Designing, managing and
delivering projects
 Client interaction
 Project team management
Day to day tasks change with
levels of experience
A day in the life of a Research Fellow

22. Any questions?

23.  www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/social-
researcher
 www.the-sra.org.uk/sra_resources/careers
 www.esrc.ukri.org/research
 www.mrs.org.uk/resources/career-
networking
Useful links

24. www.ies.ac.uk
Thank you
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