How I work
My approach
Research can be done to communities or with them. I try to do the latter. Here is what that means in practice.
My working principles
I start by listening
Before I design anything, I want to understand what you are trying to do and why it matters to you. That means a proper conversation, not a form to fill in. The shape of the work comes from that conversation, not from a template I bring with me.
Communities are the experts on their own lives
I come in as a researcher, not as someone who knows better. The people you work with have knowledge and experience that no amount of desk research can replicate. My job is to create the conditions for that knowledge to be heard, taken seriously, and used.
Research should not be extractive
Too much research takes from communities and gives back very little. I try to do the opposite. That means being honest about what the process involves, making sure people know how their contributions will be used, and producing outputs that are genuinely useful to the community, not just to whoever commissioned the work.
I stay through to the output
Where possible, I like to be involved from the first conversation through to the final report or summary.
Plain language is not dumbing down
I write clearly and without jargon. That is not about making things simpler than they are: it is about respecting the reader. A funding report that only a specialist can understand is not a good funding report. Evidence that communities can read, share, and feel proud of is.
I work with you, not on you
You know your community better than I do. I bring research skills, methodological rigour, and an outside perspective. You bring context, relationships, and trust. The best work happens when both of those things are in the room together.
On methodology
Rigorous, but not rigid
I am trained in qualitative and mixed methods social research, and I take methodological rigour seriously. That means being clear about what a piece of research can and cannot tell you, being transparent about how findings were reached, and being honest when the evidence is complicated or inconclusive.
But rigour does not mean rigidity. The methods I use are led by the question, the community, and the context. Sometimes that means interviews. Sometimes it means focus groups, creative methods, or participatory approaches where community members are involved in the analysis as well as the data collection. I do not have a default method I apply to every project.
My background also spans health and public health research and historical and archival research. That breadth shapes how I think about evidence: what counts as knowledge, who gets to produce it, and how it travels from the people who hold it to the people who need to hear it.
What this means for you
What working with me looks like
Before we start
A proper conversation about what you are trying to do, what you already know, and what would be most useful. No brief required. I am happy to talk things through before anything is decided.
During the work
Regular contact, honest updates, and no surprises. If something is not working or the scope needs to shift, I will tell you. I would rather have that conversation early than deliver something that misses the mark.
At the end
An output that works for you and for the people whose voices are in it. I will not hand over a report and disappear. If you need help using or presenting the findings, I am happy to support that too.
Sound like the right fit?
I'm happy to have an informal conversation before anything is decided. Get in touch and tell me a little about what you're working on.