Carolyn Black, Senior Research Executive

Since joining Ipsos MORI in 2008, I have worked on a wide range of research projects for clients from both the public and private sectors.

I am experienced in conducting research about children and young people, with a particular focus on health and well-being, education and the early years. My main interest lies in research projects that inform policy and practice aimed at improving outcomes for young people and providing them with positive pathways for the future.

The projects I have worked on have covered the full range of research methodologies. However, I have particular expertise in the following:

• Managing large scale surveys – I have managed the recruitment, data collection and data processing stages on a number of large scale surveys. In these projects I co-ordinated internal and external suppliers, acted as the liaison point for respondents and kept our clients updated on progress. I also took the lead in analysing the data. Examples include the Scottish Schools Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (a biennial survey of 13 and 15 year olds covering how much they smoke, drink and take drugs, in addition to other lifestyle questions) and Behaviour in Scottish Schools (a large scale survey of teachers, headteachers and classroom support staff in Scotland exploring perceptions of positive and negative pupil behaviour in and around the classroom). In addition to managing these surveys, I am also a member of the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) project team and play a key role in the data analysis of this project. This includes having analysed the results of a methodological experiment on the use of incentives.
• Evaluating young peoples’ services - I have worked on a number of mixed methods evaluations that focus on the well-being of children and young people. Examples include the evaluation of ‘You First’ (a Barnardo’s run programme that aimed to improve outcome for young parents and their families) and the evaluation of Campus Police Officers in Scottish Schools (this initiative was designed to help young people engage in positive behaviour and steer them away from antisocial activity and crime.

Client testimony:

"The open dialogue and very fruitful collaborative working to make project and outputs as robust as possible." Public Sector client