Connected Lives Project
Community Life Exhibition
One of the ways that project findings were fed back to local residents and policymakers was through exhibition in the fieldsite in September 2008.
View the 'Community Life' exhibition online (link opens in new window)
1 October 2005 to 31 December 2008
(Part of the Real Life Methods programme of work.)
About the project
Connected Lives was an investigation of the dynamics of social networks and ‘community’ interactions, through a multi-dimensional neighbourhood case study. The project sought to explain how social networks operate in spatial contexts. The methodological approach brought together perspectives from a range of disciplines including health, transport studies, human geography, informatics and sociology.
The research aimed to understand communities through an exploration of the interactions of social networks. It explored how different social groups (according to, for example social class, gender, ethnicity) construct networks of friends, relatives, neighbours and service providers, and how these networks are maintained over time and across space.
The fieldsite was an inner city district of Leeds with a heterogeneous population and diverse levels of affluence. For more information about the fieldsite see the overview document below.
Fieldsite overview document [pdf, 3.31MB](document opens in new window)
Connected Lives Findings leaflet [pdf, 185kb](link opens in new window)
Research questions
- How do people perceive social contacts and networks?
- How are communities, neighbourhoods, and networks formed in different settings and contexts?
- What are the interactions between mobilities and social networks in different communities and how does this affect health and wellbeing?
- How does the mode of communication (eg face-to-face, letter, msn, telephone, email) affect how networks are experienced?
- What methods are appropriate for understanding networks and communities?
- How can different methods be combined to create ‘fuller accounts’ of networks and communities?
Research methods
We are using a creative blend of qualitative and quantitative approaches including:- Participatory social mapping
- Diary interviews
- Walking interviews
- Secondary quantitative data collection
- Field diaries
- Key informant interviews/tours
- Participant observation
- Historical data collection
- Walkabouts
For more information about the methods we used see:
Emmel, N and Clark, C (2009) The Methods Used in Connected Lives: Investigating networks, neighbourhoods and communities (link opens in new window>. Working paper available from the National Centre for Research Methods eprints archive (item number 800).
Presentations
Connected Lives: Understanding networks, neighbourhoods and communities(link opens in new window) Presentation given by Andrew Clark and Nick Emmel on 15 September at the Burley Lodge Centre during the Community Life exhibition.
‘Reflections on users and user engagement in community research ’(link opens in new window) Emmel, N and Clark, A. Presented at INVOLVE 6th National Conference, Public involvement in research - getting it right and making a difference, 11-12 November.
‘Participatory walking interviews: More than walking and talking?’(link opens in new window) Presented at 'Peripatetic Practices': a workshop on walking (London) March 2008
‘Healthy Communities’. Presented at Healthy Universities: An event to launch the Leeds Student Health Needs Assessment; organised by the Leeds Primary Care Trust, University of Leeds, July 2007
'Learning to use visual methods: a dialogue between two researchers investigating networks, neighbourhoods and communities'. Presented at ESRC Researcher Development Initiative: Building Capacity in Visual Methods: An Introduction to Visual Methods, University of Leeds, June 2007
'We walk the walk, but can we talk the talk (with deference to John Lee Hooker): walkabouts to understand the lived environment of community'(link opens in new window). Presented at ESRC / NCRM Qualiti Interdisciplinary Seminar Series: Developing Mobile Methods, University of Wales (Cardiff), June 2007.
Research Team
Dr Nick Emmel (Project Leader), Frances Hodgson (Project Leader), Dr Andrew Clark (Researcher), Dr Jon Prosser, Dr Mark Birkin.
Project Associates: Prof Justin Keen, Dr Robert West, Dr Lai Fong Chiu, Dr Kahryn Hughes, Dr Andrew Turner.
Enquiries
For further information about this project please contact Nick Emmel (n.d.emmel@leeds.ac.uk)
Andrew Clark is now based in the School of English, Sociology, Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford where he can be contacted on a.clark@salford.ac.uk