Allen-Collinson, Jacquelyn and Hockey, John (1998) Capturing contracts: informal activity among contract researchers. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 19 (4). pp. 497-515. ISSN 0142-5692
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Contract researchers constitute an expanding occupational group in UK higher education and contribute significantly to national research output. Despite recent concern and debates over their marginal status and inferior conditions of employment, little is known about the actual complexities of contract researchers’ working lives. Drawing upon qualitative interviews, an attempt is made to remedy this lacuna, by portraying certain kinds of occupational knowledge and practices utilised by social science contract researchers. The paper focuses on the understandings and strategies which are developed and refined as researchers attempt to sustain employment in a highly insecure realm. What is portrayed is not the technical expertise required for this kind of research, but rather the knowledge, acumen and action which are more informal, tacit and indeterminate. This paper examines the cognitive and interactional processes which need to be developed and combined with technical expertise, if employment is to be maintained in such a competitive and insecure field.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Contract researchers constitute an expanding occupational group in UK higher education and contribute significantly to national research output. Despite recent concern and debates over their marginal status and inferior conditions of employment, little is known about the actual complexities of contract researchers’ working lives. Drawing upon qualitative interviews, an attempt is made to remedy this lacuna, by portraying certain kinds of occupational knowledge and practices utilised by social science contract researchers. The paper focuses on the understandings and strategies which are developed and refined as researchers attempt to sustain employment in a highly insecure realm. What is portrayed is not the technical expertise required for this kind of research, but rather the knowledge, acumen and action which are more informal, tacit and indeterminate. This paper examines the cognitive and interactional processes which need to be developed and combined with technical expertise, if employment is to be maintained in such a competitive and insecure field. |
| Keywords: | Sociology of occupations, Occupational identity, Tacit knowledge, Contract researchers |
| Subjects: | L Social studies > L300 Sociology |
| Divisions: | College of Social Sciences > Faculty of Health & Social Sciences > School of Sport & Exercise Science |
| Depositing User: | Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Oct 2012 19:03 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Oct 2012 19:03 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/id/eprint/6694 |
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