Fully-funded PhD studentship – Northern Ireland in Transition 1991-2011

Background
A fully-funded PhD studentship has been offered by QUB as part of the successful application to the ESRC to fund the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study Research Support Unit (NILS-RSU) from 2012 to 2017. It is focused around the general theme of ‘Northern Ireland in Transition 1991-2011′. This was a key part of the research and dissemination agenda described in the application. It is hoped to that the studentship will commence in Autumn 2014 to take advantage of the full linkage of the 1991 Census data to the NILS.

The Data
The NILS is a large-scale longitudinal data linkage study. It covers 28% of the Northern Ireland population (based on a sample of 104/365 birthdates drawn from health cards) and has approximately 500,000 members. It is a powerful resource for health, social, demographic and labour market research through time and can be used for finely-grained spatial analysis given its sample size. The linkage of 2011 Census data to the NILS was completed in Autumn 2013 and the linkage of the 1991 Census data will be finalised by Autumn 2014. Full details of the resource, its uses to date, and the routes to accessing it are available from the following website (http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/NILSResearchSupportUnit/).

The Application Process
The studentship is planned to complement a wider programme of research on change in Northern Ireland 1991-2011. Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates with strong quantitative backgrounds from any social science discipline (for example, Human Geography, Sociology, Politics, and Public Health/Epidemiology). Applicants are encouraged to develop their own topic under the general rubric of ‘Northern Ireland in Transition’. 

Applications should demonstrate an awareness of the research potential of longitudinal data, an understanding of suitable analytical approaches and statistical methods, and an awareness of how the NILS can be used to address the proposed research topic. In more detail, applications should contain the following elements:

1. A CV detailing qualifications and experience.
2. A 1000-word (maximum) statement that sets out the research question(s) and places it in its context, demonstrating an understanding of relevant literature.
3. A section on how data from the NILS can be used to deal with the research question(s).
4. A section outlining the likely methods to be used for analysis.
5. An outline of the expected timetable (including outputs) for the project.

The closing date for applications is June 1st, 2014 with interviews to take place within a month of this date. Dr Ian Shuttleworth (i.shuttleworth@qub.ac.uk), who will be the main supervisor, is available to answer informal queries. His research interests include residential segregation, labour market change, political demography, and migration at various spatial scales.

Suggested possible research topics include:

• The demographic bases of national identity (for example, what was the background of those in 2001 who declared themselves to be Northern Irish in the 2011 Census?);
• Young people and social disadvantage (for example, how did those young people aged 18-24 in 2001 with no qualifications fare by 2011?);
• Population dynamics and changing residential segregation (for example, how far was migration important in shaping the demographic profile of small areas in comparison with differentials in births and deaths);
• Occupational and labour market transitions between 2001 and 2011

This topic list is by no means exhaustive and applicants are therefore encouraged to develop their own ideas in consultation with Dr Shuttleworth and the staff of the NILS-RSU (nils-rsu@qub.ac.uk). Suitable second supervisors will be selected from relevant academic staff in QUB according to the research topics identified by the successful candidates.