Kate Sewel, Senior Research Executive

Prior to joining Ipsos MORI in 2007, I undertook research for the then-Scottish Executive and the Social Policy Department and Health Promotion Policy Unit at Glasgow University. I achieved an MA (hons) in Social Policy from the University of Glasgow and an MSc in Research by Social Policy from the University of Edinburgh.

I am an accomplished qualitative researcher with a great deal of experience managing studies of varying scopes and sizes, with a range of audiences. I have a particular interest in health and early years research, and specialise in research with young people.

As well as having been involved in important and high profile studies within the school education sector, I have also designed and undertaken numerous projects focusing on evaluation of programmes or policies.

Having frequently utilised a case-study approach to understand the views and experiences of young people, I am adept at ensuring research techniques appropriate to the audience – their age, the location of the research, and the activity being explored.

I have extensive experience of research on sensitive and personal issues and research with hard-to-reach and vulnerable individuals, including vulnerable young people, people with health conditions, including learning difficulties, about their condition, and with carers of terminally ill people.

The work I have undertaken has proven particularly useful for government departments and third sector organisations seeking to understand their work, the barriers and enablers to undertaking their work as intended, and the outcomes for, and impacts on, service users/beneficiaries. Some projects have involved exploring the financial value of programmes or policies (sometimes to strengthen bids for future funding), others have focused on ‘softer’ social values.

My interest in qualitative research has also seen me involved in cognitive testing and large-scale deliberative events on a range of topics.