Dr Tom Clark

Lecturer in Research Methods (BA, MA, PhD)

Academic Profile

I have spent my entire academic life at the University of Sheffield and have been a part of the Department of Sociological Studies since 2002. After graduating with a BA (hons) in Psychology, I went on to be awarded an MA in Sociological Research from the Department, and have since completed my PhD thesis entitled "Doing qualitative research with people and organisations: How do researchers understand and negotiate their research relationships?".

Research

My main research interests are in the broad areas of research methodology, novel applications of social theory, and sport. More specifically, I am interested in the utility of social research and the impact of being researched; the ethics of social research; secondary research methods; methodological innovation; and, the sociology of lower league football. Currently, I am attempting to utilise novel sources of data in order to explore the sociology of evil. I am also interested in the sociology of deception, in all of its various disguises.

During my time at Sheffield I have also worked on a variety of other research projects. In collaboration with Research in Practice (see www.rip.org.uk), I assisted with the DoH funded project, `the costs and benefits of being a research site´, as well as the DfESS funded project, `Social work expertise in the family court´. Similarly, I have also worked as a research assistant on the project, `Developing qualitative research in an e-science framework´.

Funded Research Projects
Date	Sponsor	Details
2011-2012	British Academy	'Why Was Myra Hindley Evil?' Toward a Sociological Understanding The project will address how Myra Hindley was seen by the public as well as examining the social forces that were shaping those understandings

Teaching

The guiding purpose of my teaching is to use my knowledge of the research process to help students to develop a flexible range of skills and techniques that will help them in future environments, whatever these may be. Rather than relying on the passive consumption of textbooks and lectures, my teaching emphasises productive but critical doing. This necessarily involves adopting an approach that develops substantive knowledge and practical skills, but also one that encourages critical reflection. Hence, inquiry-based learning is central to my teaching.

I am Course Leader for our undergraduate programmes and am part of the course team for the MA in Social Research.
I teach on the following courses:

• SCS1008: Introduction to Social Research
• SCS105: Doing Social Research
• SCS2004: Social Research Skills
• SCS3025: The Sociology of Evil
• SCS6001: The Research Process

Also see our Undergraduate Degree pages.

Postgraduate Supervision

To find out more about our PhD programmes, go to:

Studying for a PhD in Sociology

Publications since 2005

Mainwaring, E., & Clark, T. (2012) ‘We’re shit and we know we are’: Identity, place and ontological security in lower league football in England, Soccer and Society, 13, 1, pp 107-123.

Clark, T. (2011) Gaining and maintaining access: Exploring the mechanisms that support and challenge the relationship between gatekeepers and researchers. Qualitative Social Work, 10, 4, pp 485-502.

Clark, T. (2010) 'On being ‘researched’: Why do people engage with qualitative research?' Qualitative Research, August 19, 2010 vol. 10 no. 4: 399-419. DOI: 10.1177/1468794110366796

Clark, T. (2008) '‘We’re over-researched here!’: Exploring accounts of research fatigue within qualitative research engagements'. Sociology, 42, 5.

Clark, T., & Sinclair, R. (2008) 'The costs and benefits of being a research site'. Evidence and Policy: A journal of research, debate and practice, 4, 1, pp 105-119.

Molyneux-Hodgson, S., &, Clark, T. (2007) 'Sociological engagements with Computing: The advent of E-Science and some implications for the qualitative research community'. Sociological Research Online, 12, 3.

Clark, T. (2006) '“I’m Scunthorpe ‘til I die”: Constructing and negotiating identity through the terrace chant'. Soccer and Society, 7, 4.

Norman, P., Clark, T., & Walker, G. (2005) 'The theory of planned behaviour: Descriptive norms and the moderating role of group identification.' The Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35, 5, pp 1009-1029.

A full list of publications can be downloaded by clicking the link on the right of this page.