My research interests broadly encompass the use of technology as a vehicle for learning and empowerment, and the field of digital humanities more widely. My PhD investigated the influence of mobile learning on the learner engagement of primary school children in outdoor settings, using a design-based research approach. I carried my interest in the use of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDAS) tools through from my doctoral studies to working on the Cinema Memory and the Digital Archive project, generating innovative findings from the analysis of over 90 interviews with 1930s cinemagoers relating to cultural memory. As part of this work, I was also responsible for designing and developing the project website, database and search engine, the primary research output for the project.

My role on the DigiAge project

As Senior Research Associate, my primary remit is to undertake the day-to-day research required to help improve understanding of the structural contributors to older adult marginalisation in the digital economy, and to develop insights into mitigation of these contributors. Organising and conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with older adults, I will use qualitative data analysis to help uncover and explore the lived experiences of older adults around digital technologies, with particular reference to how the pandemic may have altered their relationship with it. In a bid to avoid stereotypical biases often associated with older adults and technology, a lifecourse perspective will be adopted, both during data collection and analysis, and in the synthesis of research findings.

Why I wanted to join the team

I am acutely aware of how the rapid advancement of technology, and the increasing push towards digitalisation of key services, has left many older adults in a position where they are unable (or unwilling) to take advantage of the benefits offered. This project provides a wonderful opportunity to explore myriad cross-cutting and interdisciplinary themes underpinning these complex socio-technical systems, and to generate and crystallise findings to help inform both practice and policy, with the ultimate aim of improving lives.