Qualitative SIG

Dr Siân Russell (she/her)

Siân acted as the lead of the QualSIG from April 2023 through to October 2025, stepping down to the role of deputy lead, while continuing to co-lead the SIG's Data & Methods Group.

Siân is currently a Research Associate in Social Science working in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture, and Engineering. Prior to this post, Siân worked within the Population Health Sciences Institute in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. 

Siân completed her first degree in Social Anthropology at The University of Edinburgh in 2006 and, the following year obtained a MSc in Social Research Methods at the same institution before undertaking a PhD at The University of Dundee. Her thesis explored the long-term experiences of living with physical and cognitive impairments acquired by stroke. A Bourdieusian theoretical lens was applied to the analysis of interview data.

Since then, Siân has developed her qualitative skills working on exploratory and applied projects covering diverse topics including sexual health and relationships in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation, self-management intervention development, intervention evaluation, and experiences of working in long-term care.

Within the Population Health Sciences Institute, Siân was part of the Ageing and Geroscience and the Public Health and Health Inequalities research themes. From 2022-2025 Siân worked in the National Institute for Health and Care Research Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Organ Donation and Transplantation (NIHR BTRU in ODT), a collaboration between Newcastle and Cambridge universities. Working within the Applied Health Research and Inequalities in Transplantation research theme Siân contributed to qualitative projects and project components and supported Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) activities. She continued to research the lived experience of solid organ donation and transplantation on projects thematically linked to her work in the BTRU in ODT in 2025, before leaving PHSI. 

In 2025 Siân started working in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, as part of the Asher Behaviour Lab, and joined the Centre for Rural Economy. She is part of the social science arm working on effective interventions to improve the welfare and productivity of laying hens, and reduce the egg industry's carbon footprint.

Outside of academic research Siân’s passions revolve around outdoor pursuits be that hiking, walking and sometimes running in the hills, camping in remote places, scrambling and rock climbing. When on annual leave she is usually somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, the Southern Uplands, Northumberland, or the Lake District; up a hill, in a tent, paddling in a loch, or stoking a fire in a bothy.

Areas of interest:

  • Inequalities
  • Practice Theory
  • Embodiment
  • Intervention development and evaluation
  • Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES)
  • Creative and novel approaches to qualitative data collection and analysis

Supervision and Teaching:

Siân has experience supervising undergraduate and master’s students, acting as an internal and external examiner at viva, and has been on PhD review boards . She is willing to be approached regarding supervision of students at all levels working on qualitative and mixed methods projects or for requests to join PhD review panels.

She has taught on topics such as developing topic guides, sampling and recruitment, data collection via interviews and focus groups, data analysis, and applying theory in qualitative research. While in PHSI, she regularly contributed to the teaching and marking of the qualitative component of NU’s Master’s in Public Health degree, and marking associated dissertations. She has also co-organised and taught informal qualitative methods workshops for colleagues within the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

Looking to collaborate on:

Collaboration is typically where the research magic happens. Siân is keen to contribute to or lead on small – large funding bids, engagement events, and developing teaching and training workshops and seminars.