South West Doctoral Training Partnership

The Climate Change, Sustainability and Society pathway focuses on the development and application of social science expertise to complex problems of climate change and sustainability. It brings together internationally recognised social and interdisciplinary scientists with expertise in the broad area of sustainability and climate change at six universities: Bristol, Exeter, UWE Bristol, Bath, Bournemouth and Plymouth Marjon.

Our research spans a wide range of social science disciplines, including psychology, geography, politics, business, education, health and the creative arts, with students benefiting from complementary and distinctive expertise at each institution. Researchers in this pathway are driven by a common goal: to conduct research with impact that influences policy and practice in the area of sustainability and climate change. This involves  addressing the complex and multifaceted challenges in this critical area, and working towards  solutions with real-world implications.

Research across the six institutions encompasses issues including the politics of sustainable transitions, resilience and adaptation, climate justice, energy and innovation, climate change communication, local sustainability governance, food systems, and the circular/green economy. Our students actively engage in interdisciplinary research groups, helping  break through disciplinary silos to build the skills, knowledge, and experiences to address these societal challenges. A wide range of qualitative and quantitative research approaches are welcomed, including innovative and creative approaches to data collection and analysis. This pathway will equip PhD students to develop the skills required for a wide range of careers in local and international contexts.

For further information about this pathway at UWE Bristol, please contact Professor Graham Parkhurst.

Contact details:

• Email: graham.parkhurst@uwe.ac.uk
• Tel: +44 (0)117 32 82133

The Health, Wellbeing and Society pathway brings together internationally recognised social scientists and practitioners who possess research and teaching strengths in the broad area of health, wellbeing and society – in particular the wider determinants of health, lifestyle behaviours, physical activity and mental wellbeing in contemporary society. It seeks to make a major impact in creating a thriving and healthy society, as well as addressing the conditions for which health and wellbeing can flourish. We seek to build research capacity at the interface of health and social sciences within and beyond academia, including through policy, services and using social science to positively influence health and wellbeing. This pathway addresses the grand challenges for health, wellbeing and society and is uniquely placed to train the next generation of future world leading researchers in social science relating to health.

We use multi and interdisciplinary perspectives to help understand how to tackle these grand challenges drawing on insights across a wide range of health-related social science (including public health, economics, health policy, psychology, anthropology, geography, sociology, social gerontology, social epidemiology, social work, social care and education). This pathway will equip novice researchers to apply cutting-edge methodologies that enhance our understanding of health and society for diverse groups, and in different settings, both in the UK and internationally.

For further information about this pathway at UWE Bristol, please contact Professor Stuart McClean.

Contact details:

• Email: stuart.mcclean@uwe.ac.uk
• Tel: +44 (0)117 32 88783

The Sociotechnical Futures and Digital Methods Pathway explores how digital technologies are shaping society and how new digital methods are transforming social science research. It sits at the intersection of methodological innovation, technological change and the social, economic, organisational and policy questions that arise from these developments.

The pathway welcomes research that uses digital methods and technologies to investigate social science questions, as well as research that critically examines the development, adoption and consequences of emerging technologies. Projects may draw on qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods and may involve approaches such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence, social media analysis, computational methods, along with smartphones, sensors, social media and other forms of digital data.

Digital technologies continue to reshape how people live, work, communicate, learn, organise and participate in society. Developments in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital platforms, automation, immersive technologies, smart infrastructures and data-intensive systems are creating new forms of interaction and new possibilities for organisations, governments and communities. These changes raise important questions about how technologies are designed, adopted, governed and experienced across different social and institutional contexts.

The pathway therefore supports a broad range of research topics, including digital transformation, technology adoption, platform economies, online communities, future workplaces, digital education, digital health, data governance, algorithmic decision-making, digital identities, smart cities, automation, organisational change, regulation, digital inclusion, and the social and economic implications of emerging technologies.

Sociotechnical developments are also creating new opportunities for methodological innovation within the social sciences. Researchers are increasingly able to work with new forms of digital data, large-scale datasets, online environments and computational tools. At the same time, these approaches raise important methodological questions around access, validity, representation, privacy, ethics and the interpretation of digital data.

Through its interdisciplinary focus, Sociotechnical Futures and Digital Methods provides a home for research that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries and uses social science to understand, evaluate and shape technological change.

If you are interested in the pathway but are unsure whether your proposed topic fits within its scope, you are very welcome to contact the Pathway Lead for an informal discussion. 

For further information about the pathway at UWE Bristol, please contact Associate Professor Xiaojun Luo. 

Contact details:

• Email: xiaojun.luo@uwe.ac.uk
• Tel: +44 (0)117 32 83432

Doctoral research in Education is creative, participatory, critical and interdisciplinary. Ranging from practice-relevant and practitioner-led research at different levels, to research into policy, theory and social justice, there are many topics that might be supervised in varied contexts and via different methodological approaches. Topics could include, but are not limited to: teacher education, pedagogy, curriculum and schooling, assessment, outdoor education, social justice and citizenship, inclusive education and SEND, comparative education and international development, decolonisation, education leadership and management, early childhood education, youth studies, digital/postdigital education or digital disadvantage, Artificial Intelligence and learning, educational psychology and wellbeing, Higher, Further and Post Compulsory Education, Vocational Education, teaching, learning and creativity, philosophy of education, language education, educational policy and practice.

There are many methodological approaches through which to explore your topic and to gather and analyse data. This includes quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches, content analysis, grounded theory, linguistic analysis, case studies, ethnographic and autoethnographic methods, different forms of participatory research, arts-based and transformative research practices, research using different technologies, and many others.

Within the SWDTP, we have strengths across Education and opportunities for exciting interdisciplinary supervision of your chosen research area. Studying for a PhD in Education within the SWDTP enables you to work with globally recognised experts who publish in leading journals and win international research funding. You will gain the skills and knowledge to shape your own cutting edge research to contribute to a better understanding of local or global educational challenges and make a difference in the world.

For further information about this pathway at UWE Bristol, please contact Dr Ciaran Burke.

Contact details:

• Email: ciaran.burke@uwe.ac.uk
• Tel: +44 (0)117 32 87034

Management and Business as a discipline drives innovation and best practice for organizations. Research in management and business seeks to address challenges that organizations face by providing evidence-based solutions set within wider theoretical contexts. These challenges range from strategic issues to managerial struggles, to operational barriers. Whether it is related to the wider business environment, resource-driven issues, or the socio-cultural aspects of organizational life, business and management research strives to discover underlying causes and develop research-informed practical solutions to bring about positive change to organizations and thus contribute to better impact on the society and communities that they reside in.

Within the College of Business and Law, we have wide-ranging research expertise including leadership, human resources management, organisational behaviour, marketing, entrepreneurship, international business, operations and supply chain management, economics, financial management, business law and ethics. We work across industries and service sectors, public and non-profit organisations and lead engaged projects that aim to make a positive impact on businesses and societies in the UK and globally. Our colleagues publish their research in leading management as well as in interdisciplinary journals and our research is funded by national and international funding bodies.

Further details of research focus, achievements, activities and membership of the College of Business and Law research groups and centres are available on their webpages:

• Bristol Leadership and Change Centre (BLCC)
• Applied Marketing Research Group (AMRG)
• Human Resources, Work and Employment research group (HRWE)
• Innovation, Operations Management and Supply (IOMS) Research Group
• Sustainable Economies Research Group (SERG)
• Bristol Research in Economics (BRE)
• Data Research, Access and Governance Network (DRAGoN)
• Governance and Accountability Research Group (GARG)

We welcome projects exploring any of the focal points of research conducted in the College, sitting within wider theoretical contexts and utilising single and multi-method approaches.

For further information about the Management and Business pathway at UWE Bristol, please contact Dr Mel Smith:

Contact details:

• Email: mel.smith@uwe.ac.uk
• Tel: +44 (0)117 32 84243

The social policy pathway includes large departments with research excellence related to social policy across a wide range of issues, including inequality, poverty, and social justice (Bristol, Bath); gender, violence, and criminal justice (Bristol, UWE Bristol); death and society (Bath); health inequalities (Plymouth); and body image (UWE Bristol).

The partnership has three broad areas of shared research excellence: 

1. Social, political, and public health policy focusing on social care, social justice, criminology, psychology, health inequalities, youth and transnational/global issues
2. Policy transfers and adaptation
3. Policy implementation and evaluation.

All four universities where the pathways are located were submitted to Social Policy in REF2021 and demonstrated good performance at 3* and 4* level for publications, impact and environment. All universities are active in winning external research grants. Each pathway has significant supervisory capacity, with the number of eligible supervisors in pathway lead departments ranging from 70 to 227 and completion rates of 95% in the period 2017–2022. All partners provide general research methods training through a cross-pathway MRes program, including access to specialist quantitative and qualitative MRes units and specialist one-off unaccredited research methods training. Some specialist training will be organised in collaboration with other SWDTP pathways, such as Health, Wellbeing and Society. Postgraduate researchers will be encouraged to seek advanced training from external providers.

The pathway has collaborations with local, national and international stakeholders and researchers beyond academia, and so is well placed to support research in practice placements to support PhD graduates into careers beyond as well as within academia.

For further information about this pathway at UWE Bristol, please contact Professor Kieran McCartan.

Contact details:

• Email: kieran.mccartan@uwe.ac.uk
• Tel: +44 (0)117 32 82354