Reflections on my In2Research placement with the Q-DaPS team

Background:

As part of the Q-DaPS project (SPCR Project no. 596) University College London hosted two In2Research Placement participants over the summer to work on the project. The In2Reserach programme is designed to enhance access to postgraduate research degrees and career opportunities for people from low socioeconomic backgrounds and under-represented groups.  We had two excellent placement participants and Kimberly McBride has written a blog about her experience. 

The Q-DaPS project is jointly led by SPCR Members from the University of Southampton and University College London (UCL), with strong input from the University of Bristol as well as a very committed steering group from three further members (Keele University, University of Exeter and Oxford University), as well as Aston University as a non-member Department.

Kimberly McBride
	In July and August, I completed a research placement as part of the multi-disciplinary Qualitative Data Preservation and Sharing team. I was based within the Primary Care and Population Health department at UCL, and my placement host was Fiona Stevenson.

The team:

Co-lead of the Q-DaPS project - Fiona Stevenson, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, Professor of Medical Sociology at UCL

Co-lead of the Q-DaPS project - Geraldine Leydon, Professor of Primary Care Research at University of Southampton

Main co-applicant of the Q-DaPS project - Barbara Caddick, Senior Research Associate in Primary Care and Honorary Senior Research Associate Department of History at University of Bristol.

I also worked closely with Shania Aurelio who was also completing the In2Research placement. The research carried out by the Q-DaPS team is SPCR funded.

Expectations

I applied for the In2Research programme because I am interested in working in research, but I wanted to get some hands-on experience before committing to that career goal. I am studying Social Psychology BSc with the Open University, and I returned to study when I turned 30. I grew up in a deprived area in Manchester and dropped out of university at 20 thinking that I wasn’t cut out for academia. Giving university a second try has boosted my confidence; I know I am capable of working in research, but more importantly, I think it is vital that people like me are represented in academia.

Before my placement, I expected to spend eight weeks supporting the researchers with small tasks. I was worried that I wouldn’t understand what the research was about and that I would feel out of my depth.

The Placement

I moved to London from the Peak District to be close to UCL. Even though the team were spread across the country, being in London meant that I made brilliant connections with, not only my placement host, but colleagues from other departments and other students. I was able to share the experience with Shania who was completing the placement on the same team but her perspective on the research was different, being from a law background. I met the Q-DaPS team once a week when we had a virtual meeting, this worked well because they always dedicated time to listening to my ideas or giving feedback on my work. However, it was important to me to spend some time on campus. I was able to work at the Royal Free Hospital where Fiona was based but it was also arranged for me to spend some time working at the offices on the main campus of UCL where I met people from the Inclusion Health team.

The placement was completely different to my expectations; from the outset I felt like an equal in the team and my ideas were taken seriously. There was a lot of flexibility; I managed my own time, and Fiona suggested I read through some of the data collected from focus groups and interviews to come up with my own research question.

The research

I completed a reflexive thematic analysis of three focus groups. The thematic analysis took up most of my time on the placement because I wanted to do it well. I logged every part of the process in a spreadsheet, from the initial coding of each transcript to the final themes. I had to manage my expectations throughout the placement; initially we considered writing a paper, but this was not possible within the timeframe. Instead, I created an academic poster with the support of the Q-DaPS team, I was nervous about writing an academic piece as my only experience of academic writing was for university assignments.

The experience

Through my placement I have realised that I am cut out for academia and that research is definitely a career path I want to pursue. There were times during my placement when I did feel out of my depth, but I overcame that feeling by collaborating with my team, being

inquisitive and being open to the experience. I am grateful to the team for their confidence in my ability and for supporting me to work on my own piece of research. I am now completing my final module towards a Social Psychology BSc and considering my next step into a career in research.