Introducing our newest recruit

Hello!

I’m Mairead – Diffley Partnership’s newest recruit.

I joined the company in June of this year as a Research Assistant. My role involves assisting with the delivery of quantitative and qualitative research studies, from the proposal stage to the presentation and communication of findings. I draft discussion guides for interviews based on clients’ specifications and detailed reviews of previous research; conduct interviews and facilitate focus groups with stakeholders; and convey findings in both reports and presentations – among other tasks.

I was thrilled to join Diffley Partnership. The company’s focus on delving into Scotland’s social and political landscape – both in broad strokes across the nation’s views and more deeply on certain pertinent issues – aligns well with my own research interests (which tend to lie in the general area of impacts of sociopolitical factors on individual wellbeing).

My main research interests range from preventative health measures, development of active travel infrastructure, and efforts to ensure public policy is informed by lived experiences, and my expertise tends towards the qualitative side of things. I find great fulfilment in digging deeper into people’s experiences, seeking understanding and insight, in order to (hopefully) encourage broader understanding of our individual differences and similarities.

I was, and continue to be, excited by the research that working here allows me to get involved in. I particularly enjoyed working on a project that examined the implementation of government policies seeking to address the poverty-related attainment gap via improved childcare provision – this aligned with both my research interests and my previous experience working for an MSP. I also found our work examining a proposed policy to combat the obesity epidemic in Scotland really interesting, particularly how this work highlighted the lesser-known intricacies of addressing one of the most significant public health issues in Scotland today.

Beyond the world of research, cooking, dancing, and chasing a football around a field bring me joy and fulfilment.