Are you proud of how you are using data in a dissertation this year?
If so, enter this year’s UK Data Service undergraduate Dissertation Award. Three winners will receive a prize of £300 and publicity about their work.
The award is open to students who have completed a dissertation on a social science topic and have used data available from the UK Data Service. Previous entries have covered a diverse mix of topics including:
- Public space and well-being
- Attitudes and behaviours towards the environmental crisis
- The availability of fast food and obesity.
The dissertation can use survey, census, international or qualitative data from the UK Data Service. We are looking for all dissertations that use existing data well, as Nigel de Noronha, chair of our judging panel, explains:
I encourage everyone who has used our data in their dissertation to enter. It is not about the complexity of statistical methods or tools that you have used. It is about how effectively you have used secondary data to develop and sustain your arguments.
Dr Nigel De Noronha
The deadline for entries is 29 June 2022.
Meet the Judges
Each year, our judging panel includes experts from the UK Data Service and academic staff from a range of social science disciplines.
This year, we welcome Dr Nigel De Noronha from our User Support and Training team. Nigel’s research has focused on housing in the UK and analysis of data from the UK Census. From times as a Lecturer at the University of Nottingham and the University of Warwick, he has experience of undergraduate teaching and supervising dissertations.
For our external judges, we are pleased to welcome back Dr Paula Divine and Professor Sarah Smith.
Dr Paula Devine has extensive experience of social science data, plus knowledge exchange between academic and policy sectors. She is also co-director of ARK, Northern Ireland’s social policy hub, plus the director of the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey. Her expertise includes research on ageing and men’s health, as well as knowledge exchange between the age, academic and policy sectors in Northern Ireland.
Professor Sarah Smith is Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol and her expertise is in applied microeconomics. Her research has explored pensions, savings and retirement issues. She is currently focused on the economics of not-for-profit organisations.