Senior Research Associate (Qualitative Researcher)

The role

We are seeking an enthusiastic team member to join Digital Footprints Lab (https://digifootprints.co.uk/) at Population Health Sciences at the University of Bristol as a Senior Research Associate. This is an exciting opportunity for a qualitative researcher who is passionate about involving the public in their research, has an understanding of data science and an interest in using novel of Smart Data in health research. This post will support research activities within An acceptability and governance foundation for linking participant retailer loyalty card records to UK longitudinal population studies project. It is funded by Smart Data Research UK’s Accelerator programme (https://www.sdruk.ukri.org/). The position is funded for one-year full time. There is a possibility of part-time employment.

The project focuses on using "Smart Data" from supermarket loyalty cards to enhance health and social science research by revealing insights into behaviours like food purchases, budgeting, and health habits. This data has already advanced our understanding of diet, cancer detection, and mental health. Our research aims to integrate Smart Data with Longitudinal Population Studies (LPS), which track participants over many years. By linking these data sources, we can improve data quality and uncover new insights into population behaviours. We will work with the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC, https://ukllc.ac.uk/) and five key LPS to understand participants' views on using their data, address ethical concerns, and create effective communication materials. This will help us explore the feasibility of data linkage, establish ethical guidelines, and build a community of researchers for future studies.

The appointee will work closely with the PI, Dr Anya Skatova, they will be a part of friendly and collegial team at Digital Footprints Lab, work with co-investigators from the Universities of Bristol and Edinburgh, and a wider network of academic and non-academic collaborators. The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in research on the public acceptability of data science and will be enthusiastic about opportunities that commercial data analytics offer for academic public health research. 

What will you be doing?

• Co-design and co-conduct workshops and focus groups with public involvement and engagement groups from longitudinal population studies;

• Write up results and contribute to the research project’s dissemination to academic and non-academic communities, in whatever form (reports, papers, book chapters, conference posters, presentations, blogs);
• Contribute to future external funding applications to support the further development of a Smart Data research programme;
• Organize and run stakeholder workshops to disseminate the results of the project.

You should apply if

You should apply if you possess experience of working in similar roles in research teams.

Additional information

Contract type: Fixed Term until 31/07/2025

Work pattern: Full time/ 1FTE

Shift pattern: 35 hours a week

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on 25/09/2024

For informal queries please contact: Dr Anya Skatova, anya.skatova@bristol.ac.u 

Our strategy and mission

We recently launched our strategy to 2030 tying together our mission, vision and values.

The University of Bristol aims to be a place where everyone feels able to be themselves and do their best in an inclusive working environment where all colleagues can thrive and reach their full potential. We want to attract, develop, and retain individuals with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives – particularly people of colour, LGBT+ and disabled people - because diversity of people and ideas remains integral to our excellence as a global civic institution.

Advert information