New EU ‘YouthLife’ project to improve research methods

CPC Fertility and Family strand leader, Professor Ann Berrington, is a research team member on a newly announced three-year European Union Twinning initiative that will support the development of research methods expertise at the University of Tallinn, Estonia. The aim is to strengthen research on youth transitions from a life course perspective.

Professor Berrington will be part of the University of Southampton research team alongside Southampton Lead Professor Ros Edwards and Dr Susie Weller. They will work in partnership with colleagues at the University of Tallinn, the University of Bamberg, Germany, and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI).

The ‘YouthLife’ project aims to bridge qualitative and quantitative approaches to life course research with the aim of advancing mixed methods design for the new Estonian Longitudinal Study of Youth. It will also foster mutually advantageous networking and knowledge exchange between the international partners.

Professor Edwards and Dr Weller will be drawing on their expertise to lead on expanding skills in advanced qualitative longitudinal and mixed methods. Professor Berrington will lead on her expertise in quantitative longitudinal and mixed methods data collection and analysis.

Professor Berrington comments: “I am excited about this EU project which brings together leaders in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of transitions to adulthood, including our international partners: Professors Saar (Tallinn), Blossfeld (Bamberg) and Liefbroer (NIDI). A mixed methods approach is likely to lead to a better understanding of the ways in which young adults’ lives are becoming more uncertain, and the implications of this for their later life courses’.

The Southampton team will also be providing mentoring to early career researchers and doctoral students, and hosting advanced training schools and research visits to Southampton.

The project will be part of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods’ (NCRM) new programme of cutting-edge research methods training, which is led from the University of Southampton.

Professor Edwards said: “Building the methodological capacities of up-and-coming researchers in Estonia, and supporting the development of the country’s new longitudinal youth study, is a venture that we are proud to be involved in. It shows the standing in which our methodological expertise at the University of Southampton is held.”

The project is funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme and is due to start in January 2021.

Posted 06/07/2020 15:34