April 29, 2015 – Glasgow residents eligible to vote in the 2015 UK General Election are invited to participate in research that takes a ‘snapshot’ of people’s campaign views. The Qualitative Election Study of Britain will conduct research in Glasgow to uncover people’s pre- and post-election views.

Based at the University of Dundee, the QESB will be hosted by the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Government and Public Policy.

“Scottish voters will play a pivotal role in determining how Britain will be governed after May 8th. Understanding Scottish voters will be an important part of understanding this election result,” said Dr. Mark Shephard, Senior Lecturer in Politics at Strathclyde.

The 90-minute focus groups will take place the evening of May 5th in Glasgow on the Strathclyde campus and include a £30 payment for people’s time.

“This is an unusually unpredictable election,’ said QESB study’s leader Dr. Edzia Carvalho of Dundee’s School of Humanities. “We want to hear what people think of the various party leaders and what things will be important to their votes.’’

The project is funded by a British Academy and Leverhulme Trust small grant and by GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.

If you would like to apply for the focus groups, visit: https://wintersresearch.wordpress.com

Qualitative Election Study comes to Essex. Participants Sought for Local Views on the Election

Colchester, Harwich and North Essex, Clacton residents eligible to vote in the 2015 UK General Election are invited to participate in research that takes a `snapshot’ of people’s campaign views. The Qualitative Election Study of Britain will conduct research in and around Essex to uncover people’s pre- and post-election views.

Based at the University of Dundee, the QESB will be hosted by the University of Essex’s Department of Government. Dr. Rob Johns, Reader in Politics at Essex, commented, “There are several very close constituency races in Essex. This study should help us understand how voters are making up their minds given the wide choice of parties and, in some cases, the tactical dilemmas that they have this time.”

The 90-minute focus groups will take place the evenings of 28-30 April in Colchester include a £30 payment for people’s time. A Clacton focus group at the Brotherhood Community Hall will take place on Thursday 30 April at 1 pm. The study will also include a focus group for and after participants watch the final leaders’ discussion on 30 April. Payment for participation in this focus group will be £40.

“This is an unusually unpredictable election,’ said the study’s leader Dr. Edzia Carvalho of Dundee’s School of Humanities. “We want to hear what people think of the various party leaders and what things will be important to their votes.’’

The project is funded by a British Academy and Leverhulme Trust small grant and by GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.

If you would like to apply for the focus groups, visit: https://wintersresearch.wordpress.com

Birmingham, UK – Birmingham residents eligible to vote in the 2015 UK General Election are invited to participate in research that takes a `snapshot’ of people’s campaign views. The Qualitative Election Study of Britain will conduct research in Birmingham to uncover people’s pre- and post-election views.

The focus groups will take place during the day on Saturday, 25 April on the Birmingham University campus at 10 am till 11:30 am or 1:00 till 2:30 pm and include a £30 payment for people’s time.

Based at the University of Dundee, the QESB will be hosted by the University of Birmingham’s British Politics interdisciplinary group. It brings together experts from across the University who have research interests in the broad area of British politics.

‘With the survey polls indicating that one party will not gain a majority of the seats, this research will be important to understand how voters are making their decisions,’ said Dr. Stephen Bates of the university’s Political Science and International Studies Department. ‘Polls can’t tell you how voters are thinking, and this will provide insights into how some Birmingham residents make up their minds in the face of election outcome uncertainty.’

The project is funded by a British Academy and Leverhulme Trust small grant and by GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.

“This is an unusually unpredictable election,’ said the study’s leader Dr. Edzia Carvalho of Dundee’s School of Humanities. “We want to hear what people think of the various party leaders and what things will be important to their votes.’’

If you would like to apply for the focus groups, visit: https://wintersresearch.wordpress.com

Too much like the American system, was one reaction to the inclusion of the ‘worm’ in BBC’s challengers debates on April 18th.  While one participant called the information provided ‘interesting’ the respondents unanimously agreed they did not like its inclusion.

It was too large and too distracting in the view of those in the focus group. One participant admitted she did not understand its purpose. ‘Is it tracking their lies?’ she asked, jokingly, to the laughter of the other respondents.

For more information on the Qualitative Election Study of Britain, go to https://wintersresearch.wordpress.com/

Cardiff residents took part in focus group research before, during and after tonight’s challengers debate. Participants were asked if they thought debates should be part the election campaign. Some felt that while debates presented a ‘shiny’ version of the leaders, they were useful for finding out more about party manifestos.

After the debates the participants reported that they would have like to hear even more policy specifics from the leaders.

For more on the QESB, subscribe to this blog.

Birmingham, UK – Birmingham residents eligible to vote in the 2015 UK General Election are invited to participate in research that will take a `snapshot’ of people’s campaign views. The Qualitative Election Study of Britain will conduct research in the constituencies of Birmingham Solihull and Birmingham Edgbaston  to uncover people’s pre- and post-election views.

The focus groups will take place during the day on 25 April on the Birmingham University campus. The project is funded by a British Academy and Leverhulme Trust small grant and by GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.

The groups will take place at 10 am till 11:30 am or 1:00 till 2:30 pm and include a £30 payment for people’s time.

“Voters are faced with an unprecedented range of political choices, said the study’s leader Dr. Edzia Carvalho of Dundee’s School of Humanities. “We want to hear what they think of the various party leaders and what things will be important to their votes.’’

Cardiff, UK – Cardiff residents eligible to vote in the 2015 UK General Election are invited to participate in research that will take a `snapshot’ of people’s campaign views. The Qualitative Election Study of Britain will conduct research in Cardiff constituencies to uncover people’s pre- and post-election views.

“The political dynamics in Cardiff in this election are fascinating,’ said Professor Roger Scully, investigator of the 2011 Welsh Election Study and advisor to the QESB. ‘This research will capture the views of voters in Cardiff in innovative ways.“

The focus groups will take place on 16 April during the debates and during the day on 18 April on the Cardiff University campus. The project is funded by a British Academy and Leverhulme Trust small grant and by GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.

“Voters are faced with an unprecedented range of political choices, said the study’s leader Dr. Edzia Carvalho of Dundee’s School of Humanities. “We want to hear what they think of the various party leaders and what things will be important to their votes.’’

If you would like to apply for the focus groups, visit: https://wintersresearch.wordpress.com/

Dundee, Scotland – Nicola Sturgeon came out as the highest rated, with Ed Miliband not far behind. David Cameron and Nick Clegg had slightly lower ratings. Natalie Bennet and Leanne Wood saw marks from A to F, while Nigel Farage received a failing mark.

Those were the impressions of voters who took part in focus groups conducted as part of the Qualitative Election Study at the University of Dundee last night.  Fifteen people took part in the research which involved watching the debates and reacting to them in real time.

‘This is the only chance for voters to see seven party leaders on stage, defending their ideas and their policies,’ said Dr. Edzia Carvalho who is the principle investigator on the study. ‘Our participants certainly had a lot to say about the performance of the various leaders.’

Participants were asked to write down their impressions of each leader as the debate unfolded. They also gave each leader a final overall mark from A to F.  Participants reported having learned useful new things from watching the debates.

‘Although people expressed some concern at the presidential style of the debates, there was wide general agreement that debates are a good thing and should certainly remain part of the General Election campaign in future,’ said Dr. Kristi Winters, the study’s international co-investigator from GESIS, Cologne.

The research is funded by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust.  For more information contact Dr. Edzia Carvalho on e.carvalho@dundee.ac.uk.

March 26 (Dundee) – Research by the Qualitative Election Study of Britain team has been chosen for inclusion in an upcoming collection from Oxford University Press.  The article  by Carvalho and Winters, ‘“I Went with What I Always Do …”: A Qualitative Analysis of ‘Cleggmania’ and Vote Choice in the 2010 British General Election,’ first appeared in Parliamentary Affairs.

Articles in the collection will relate to general elections, the electoral process, and key issues which political parties have addressed in their manifestos. It will be available before the upcoming UK general election.

Links to the OUP collection will be posted to here on the QESB announcement page when they go live.

Paid participation in 2015 UK General Election Study offered

Dundee, Angus, and Fife residents eligible to vote in the 2015 UK General Elections are invited to participate in University of Dundee research that will take a `snapshot’ of people’s election campaign views. Participants selected for the study will receive £40 for taking part in the session on 2 April.

“This election could result in the most interesting political scenarios in recent British history,” said the study’s leader Dr. Edzia Carvalho of Dundee’s School of Humanities. “Voters are faced with an unprecedented range of political choices. We want to hear what they think of the various party leaders and what things will be important to their votes.’’

The first focus group will take place on the evening of Thursday 2 April (7-10 pm) during the televised ‘Leaders’ debate’. If you would like to apply, contact Dr. Carvalho at e.carvalho@dundee.ac.uk or visit: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/humanities/forms/group672

The project is funded by the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust and GESIS Leibnitz Institute for the Social Sciences.

Participants using a smartphone, tablet or laptop during the debate will also have the opportunity to contribute to a project on how these devices are used to communicate political issues. For more information on this related project, contact Ms. Katerina Gorkovenko at k.gorkovenko@dundee.ac.uk or visit: http://goggleboxforresearch.wix.com/gogglebox