Research in Sociology

Research Projects

Football Fans and Betting (FFAB): a feasibility study and randomised pilot trial of a group-based intervention to reduce gambing involvement among males football fans

Sports betting is a massive growth area for the gambling industry, and recent years have seen the increasing convergence of gambling and sports like football. This aim of this research is to carry out a pilot study of a new programme - Football Fans and Betting (FFAB). It aims to support men who gamble regularly to reduce how much time and money they spend on betting, and so improve their wellbeing. 

Sports Betting in Malawi: a pilot interview study of male bettors

In recent years Malawi has experienced a significant growth in the availability of gambling products and services. As Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, there are concerns that this trend will have negative effects on development and health

In it to win it: An interdisciplinary investigation of sports betting

This project aims to understand social practices of using mobile phone sports betting apps among young adults in Australia.

Evaluation of the Police Scotland/Rape Crisis Scotland ‘Support to Report’ Pilot Advocacy Service

This research is designed to evaluate an innovative Scottish Government funded pilot project offering 24 hour on-call advocacy support to women and men reporting rape in Glasgow. A mixed-method research design will be adopted, including the tracking of rape cases, interviews with the police, advocacy workers and survivors of rape.

Intimate Migrations: Lesbian, gay and bisexual migrants in Scotland

Exploring how sexuality may shape intra-European migration through a focus on the lived experiences of LGB migrants who have moved to Scotland from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.

Lives Sentenced: Experiences of Repeated Punishment

Investigating how people who are repeatedly punished by the criminal justice sentence interpret and give meaning to their sentences.

Offender Supervision in Europe (COSTAction 1106)

The emergence of ‘mass supervision’ of offenders (i.e. in the community) has largely escaped the attention of legal scholars and social scientists more concerned with the ‘mass incarceration’ reflected in prison growth. This Action aims to remedy this by facilitating cooperation between institutions and individuals in different European states who carry out research on offender supervision.

Quality of Engagement in Probation Practice

A multi-method study examining how probation workers understand and construct the meaning of 'quality' in one-to-one supervision: a previously neglected and yet ubiquitous aspect of penal practice.

(Re)Imagining Youth: A Comparative Sociology of Youth Leisure in Scotland and Hong Kong

Analysing youth leisure in Scotland and Hong Kong in historical and cross-cultural perspective, drawing on a qualitative, comparative case-study design. Building on landmark sociological research from the 1960s (Jephcott 1967, 1971), the study will explore socio-cultural meanings and changing experiences of youth leisure in two case-study locations, with a particular focus on themes of youth transition, leisure space and 'risky' behaviours. Approximately 150 young people aged 16-24 years will participate in the project and methods utilised will include ethnographic observations, stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions and oral history interviews with young people, visual methods (drawing and photography) and on-line interviews (utilising digital and social media).

Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State

Seeking to explore the difficult area of translation and interpretation, working in partnership with a wide variety of partners that includes Creative Scotland and the Scottish Refugee Council. International academics from Bulgaria, Arizona and Gaza will come together with those from the University of Glasgow in innovative ways to examine some of the issues that occur during interpretation and translation.  

A socio-cultural exploration of the lives of polio survivors

Conducting life history interviews with British polio survivors to explore the social, cultural and psycho-emotional effects of the disease for the individual, family and communities across their lives 

Understanding Gambling: Impacts and Social Networks Across the Lifecourse

A five year qualitative longitudinal study designed to explore changes in gambling and problem gambling behaviour over time, as well as the impacts of gambling on both players and those in their wider social networks.