SeNSS Collaborative Studentship 2023: Understanding interdependencies in early adulthoods: Learning from care experienced young people who participated in Lifelong Links (2023)

What you get

University fees and a stipend of £17,668 per year

Type of award

Postgraduate research

PhD project

The project will employ a mixed methods approach, combining qualitative narrative interviews with a selective sample of young adults who participated in Lifelong Links, alongside a secondary analysis of administrative data within the case study local authority, to examine quantitively the pathways of young adults who have worked with Lifelong Links. The inclusion of this approach will also contribute to methodological discussions about the synergies between quantitative and qualitative methods, and the multi-faceted uses of existing datasets within local authorities.

 Specifically, the project will involve the following components:

 (1)        Policy and literature reviews to establish context and build a theoretical and conceptual framework for understanding connected lives in early adulthood, addressing (a) care experience specifically; (b) wider population contexts, including considerations such as economic, housing and labour market insecurity; (c) creation and utilisation of data within the children’s social care sector with a specific focus on appropriate and ethical uses of data for impact analysis.

 (2)        Secondary analysis of individual level, longitudinal data collected for Lifelong Links (including case file data extraction) from the case study local authority, with the aim of identifying a sampling frame based on principles of emblematic sampling, to establish a qualitative sample that illuminates a variety of contexts for relational interdependence in early adulthoods. In addition to utilising the data to establish a qualitative sample, descriptive analysis will be carried out to examine all variables about the care experiences of the sample (e.g., placement type, placement stability, length of care episode) and multi-variate analysis will be conducted to examine the influence of time-varying covariates on transitions.

 (3)        In-depth qualitative research with a sample of 10-12 young adults who participated in Lifelong Links. The qualitative research design will be developed by the doctoral researcher, but is expected to draw on creative and participatory approaches to investigate narratives of interdependency and relational selves, exploring important relationships in participants’ everyday lives over time. The interviews will be cross-sectional, but will employ a biographical approach to encourage participants to look backwards and forwards in their lives. Particular attention will be paid to the role of relationships established through Lifelong Links, but these are not the sole focus of the research. Rather, Lifelong Links relationships will be considered in the context of the wider landscape of participants’ relational connections, in order to determine: 

a) who and what matters in their everyday lives, and how, taking account of

• different forms of formal and informal support, emotional connection, understandings of identity;
• narratives of everyday lives over time, addressing sources of in/security and imagined futures, aspirations and concerns

b) change, continuities and discontinuities in relationships over time, including how Lifelong Links connections may be maintained or dissipate over time, and the reason for these changes;

c) relational understandings of self and identity, including exploring what has shaped participants’ understandings of themselves in relation to other people in their lives, and the role of Lifelong Links in contributing to those understandings.

The supervisors bring complementary methodological expertise – with Boddy’s contribution particularly focused on qualitative and narrative methodology, and Holmes ensuring expertise in quantitative methodology and administrative data analysis. Both supervisors also have long track records of mixed methods studies, and are well-placed to ensure the integration of the findings from the different components of the research. Training will be provided on different approaches to mixed-methods analysis. The FRG supervisor, Hall, will contribute particularly to enabling understanding of policy and professional contexts for different components of the work (e.g., policy review, interview design and interpretation of narratives of professional support) and for knowledge exchange and ensuring the relevance of findings in planning impact and related activities.

Eligibility

Whether you are a home or international student, you are eligible for a fully-funded award (your fees will be paid, and you will receive a stipend/living allowance).

Number of scholarships available

1

Deadline

How to apply

In order to be considered for a place you will need to submit a formal application using our online application system which you can find here: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/pg/applying

Our application process aims to recruit excellent students from diverse backgrounds and we particularly encourage applications from groups that are under-represented in post-graduate study and in academia, including people who are care experienced. The University of Sussex is a signatory to the Care Leaver Covenant for Higher Education. For more information about the support available to Sussex students, see https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/student-life/student-support

We suggest that you consider the following questions in planning your personal statement, with a structure that includes at least three paragraphs.

Statements must be no more than 500 words.

• Why are you interested in this SeNSS ESRC-funded collaborative PhD studentship with the University of Sussex and Family Rights Group?
• How will the SeNSS PhD research training contribute to your career goals and long-term ambitions?
• What is your motivation for choosing this particular project? How would you approach or develop the project agreed with the partner? 

• Why do you consider yourself a good fit to the Sussex/Family Rights Group project and to undertaking a PhD? What makes you a strong candidate for this SeNSS collaborative studentship? 

• Describe your motivations and how your previous experience - academic, professional or in other fields - has equipped you for a mixed methods social sciences research degree and specifically for this collaborative project. For example, evidence qualifications and/or additional relevant research experience through placements or work.
• We welcome students from a broad range of social science disciplines, so tell us about your relevant experiences which may include your degree, research projects or work experience. Include transferable skills from your academic, professional and personal experiences. How does your current skill set make you a good fit for undertaking this collaborative PhD?
• What additional skills and experience will you bring to the work placement with Family Rights Group?
• Demonstrate the research you’ve done into doing a PhD, and into the particular nature of this collaborative project.

In addition to your personal statement, you will need to upload copies of the following documens:

• MA award certificate
• MA transcript
• BA award certificate
• BA tanscript
• CV
• Evidence of English Language proficiency (if applicable, see here for more information: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/2017/education-and-social-work/education-phd )

You will also need to make a separate second application to SeNSS for funding for this collaborative studentship. Please read the application guidance notes before completing our online application form via the HEIapply platform. The deadline for submitting your application on HEIapply is 12:00 GMT on Monday 27 February 2023. No extensions to this deadline will be permitted.

Contact us

For more information please contact the project supervisors Prof. Janet Boddy or Prof. Lisa Holmes

Timetable

To apply for this studentship, you must first apply for a place to study at the University of Sussex, noting that you are applying for the SeNSS collaborative studentship. Please click here for information on how to make your application. The deadline for applying to the University of Sussex is 4.00pm GMT on Friday 10 February 2023. There is more information about applying for SeNSS funding at Sussex on our PhD funding pages.

You will also need to make a separate second application to SeNSS for funding for this collaborative studentship. Please read the application guidance notes before completing our online application form via the HEIapply platform. The deadline for submitting your application on HEIapply is 12:00 GMT on Monday 27 February 2023. No extensions to this deadline will be permitted.