Dan Thorman, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Sheffield

I am a PDRA based at the University of Sheffield currently working on Work Package 3, Methods and Evidence Synthesis. My work focuses on meta-science, exploring assumptions of systematic reviews, and communication at the science-policy interface. More specifically, I am designing a research project that investigates the impact of review teams on the outcomes of systematic reviews using the COM-B model. Another key project hopes to improve the way that evidence of behavioural interventions is communicated from those conducting the research to those who might wish to employ or implement behavioural interventions in practice and policy. This will be a mixed methods study, with interviews and/or workshops with key actors at the interface of science and policy, which will generate insight and understanding of what is needed. Furthermore, this will inform a qunatitative stage, exploring the interpretability of effectiveness of behavioural interventions, seeking to understand levels of nuance and detail, and how well they do or do not translate.

I have worked in public engagement of climate change for over 10 years, with a strong interest in methods and critical social science. Whilst I’m probably most aligned with social psychology, I take huge inspiration from sociology, geography and heterodox economics, and love to approach psychology with a more critical lens whereby we can understand the agency of individuals alongside the power dynamics of socio-political context. My experience of applying social science research methods to policy acceptance and public engagement have afforded me with practical examples of evidence-based policy implementation, so an exposition of these approaches from a meta- perspective is extremely exciting. I would love to try and make better sense of how we can improve society and governance with a better collaboration between academia, business, government, and of course, the public.

I think if you’re still studying then choose something you’re passionate about and enjoy working on! The experience you get know could set you on a path for your career and it’s good to make sure that you’re interested and excited in the topic area if you can. Don’t be afraid to be ambitious, there’s a lot of work to do in this field and thinking critically about challenging the status quo will be essential to progress and will give you the extra edge. 

 

Critical thinking, methodological plurality and interdisciplinarity are three that come to mind. Behaviour is incredibly complex and the more perspectives you can integrate into your work the more you’ll enjoy building understandings of our personal, interpersonal and societal ways of living and doing. Thinking deeply about a topic, creating knowledge about it using a number of different approaches, and applying it across a number of disciplines or domains means you’ll have a wider appeal and a greater set of opportunities.