School of Sociology and Social Policy

Research Interests

• ESRC Timescapes and the secondary analysis of qualitative date

I ran the Secondary Analysis Project of ESRC Timescapes. With colleagues I generated a range of resource and publications, along with a programme of qualitative longitudinal research methods training. Details of the work (including links to our publications, working papers, presentations and training) are on the website

There are other resources on the Timescapes website, including the Timescapes Archive and links to a range of research methods resources including a series of Brief Methods Guides.

• Parenting and Family Life

I am running a research project in the area of parenting and family life. The project involved a survey and a series of qualitative (semi-structured) interviews with parents, in 2008-9. They were interviewed again in 2011. Publications from the project include work on inequalities and concerted cultivation, and parents’ expectations for, and modes of engagement with, their children’s futures (e.g. Irwin and Elley 2012/forthcoming; 2011). Further work is in progress.

A document was circulated to participants (at Parenting and Family Life ), after the second wave of interviews, at which point many parents had children moving into, or through, their early teens. In it are examples of how parents reflected on various themes including: parenting a teenager, supporting children as they grow older, views on increasing university fees, perceptions of change across generations, and support for parents.

Teaching

My main teaching interests reflect my research interests. I currently convene a level 3 module called Education, Culture and Society, and a level 1 module called Identity, Difference and Inequalities. I am convening a new programme of staff student workshops through which we are further engaging our undergraduate students in the research culture of the School as a whole. I have extensive MA and PhD supervision experience.

PhD Supervision

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the following areas:

• Family / parenting
• Education
• Generations / life course
• Class, gender, social inequalities
• Secondary analysis of qualitative data

Key Publications

Books

• Irwin, S. (2005) Reshaping Social Life, Routledge.
• Irwin, S. (1995) Rights of passage. Social change and the transition from youth to adulthood, UCL Press.

Indicative Journal Articles

• Irwin, S. and Elley. (2013) S. ‘Parents’ hopes and expectations for their children’s future occupations’, The Sociological Review 61 (1) 
• Irwin, S. and Winterton, M. (2012) ‘Qualitative secondary analysis and social explanation’, Sociological Research Online 17 [2]
• Winterton, M. and Irwin, S. (2012) 'Teenage expectations of going to university: the ebb and flow of influences from 14 to 18', Journal of Youth Studies 15 [7]: 858-74
• Irwin, S., Bornat, J. and Winterton, M. (2012) ‘Timescapes secondary analysis: comparison, context and working across data sets’, Qualitative Research, 12 [1]: 66-80
• Irwin, S. and Elley, S. (2011) 'Concerted Cultivation? Parenting values, education and class diversity', Sociology 45, 3, 480-95.
• Irwin, S. (2010) ‘Working across qualitative and quantitative data. Childhood, youth and social inequalities’, Forum 21. European Journal on Child and Youth Research 6 [12]: 58-63
• Irwin, S. (2009) ‘Locating where the action is: quantitative and qualitative lenses on families, schooling and structures of social inequality’, Sociology 43, 6, 1123-40.
• Irwin, S. (2009) ‘Family contexts, norms and young people’s orientations: researching diversity’, Journal of Youth Studies 12, 4, 337-54.

• Working papers

• With Dr. Mandy Winterton (the project research fellow), I wrote 4 working papers as part of the Secondary Analysis Project on ESRC Timescapes. These and other resources are available through the Secondary Analysis Project pages of the ESRC Timescapes website.

Chapters in Books

• Irwin, S. (2008) 'Data analysis and interpretation: emergent issues in linking qualitative and quantitative evidence', In: Hesse-Biber, S.; Leavy, P. (eds.) Handbook of emergent methods in social research,Guildford Publications.