We are a core group of four with a wider contributing group of around 7 who have been collating and reporting public data about deaths in Scottish state care or custody, published in a series called Nothing to See Here? (available by searching the sccjr.ac.uk website). The aim of this work is to raise public awareness and policy action around this issue through robust data anlaysis. We also aim to assist those who may be affected by a death in custody by providing accessible information about this issue. We work in a collaborative and supportive team environment, with regular meetings and check-ins, with support and vetting for people working on a sensitive topic. Separate to the research, our group has set up a family support group which we facilitate but do not direct.

We offer multiple projects below, one of which applicants will complete during the placement period (3 months full time or 6 months part time). It is possible to apply for more than one project, but the successful candidate will be assigned to only one. The placed student would be line managed by the project PI Sarah Armstrong, with additional support from others in the team. There are extensive additional development support options and potential mentoring from outside the project team available at the University of Glasgow. None of the projects require experience of knowledge of deaths in custody, providing support for developing basic understand is built into project timelines.

Database development: We have built a database from public records of people dying in different settings of Scottish state custody or care (prison, police, children/young people care, mental health detention, migration detention). As the only such database in existence, it serves an important public and policy role reporting on deaths. This project would involve assisting with this database including: gathering additional data via public records and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests as well as contacting data holders at various organisations; and learning about and helping to further develop the coding and management of data. Depending on the skills and interests of the successful candidate, it could involve analysis of data through descriptive statistics or more advanced statistical analysis. This work would feed into the main annual monitoring report of the research project and potentially an academic journal article. There is scope for the successful candidate to contribute ideas for analysis and additional outputs, such as themed reports or blogs on findings. No advanced quantitative skills are required, but a confident understanding of Excel is essential.

Informational resource development: This project would create specific resources for non-academic audiences that could include bereaved families, media, lawyers and/or the public. Such resources assist improved public understanding, and compassionate, respectful engagement with those most directly impacted by a death.  This would involve translating the project’s existing research outputs and other relevant material into accessible briefings for use by different stakeholders, supported by others in the research team. Examples might include guidelines for media in reporting a death in custody; Infographic on deaths in custody; or, non-technical explainers for families about investigation processes after a death in custody. Depending on the skills and interests of the successful candidate, this could involve visual, audio or written formats.

Literature review and ethics application: There is extensive research on deaths in custody, and this project would assist the team in organising this material. It could suit an earlier stage PhD student looking to develop skills of critically engaging and practically managing large bodies of literature. The team is preparing a large qualitative study and could also use support preparing its ethics application. This could support the development of understanding ethics in sensitive research and preparing a complex application (including data management plans, data impact assessments). Both parts of this project would be supported closely by the project lead, meeting regularly with the successful candidate to discuss project requirements and timelines. In neither aspect, is the candidate solely responsible for outputs, but would be part of the wider team also working on these.

Legal judgments collation and analysis: This project would involve working with the team to gather inquest reports (in Scotland these are called ‘fatal accident inquiry determinations’) and then organise, code and analyse these. Determinations set the official narrative of a state death and therefore are an authoritative role. They include information about the background of the person who died, their cause of death and any corrective findings made. Analysis would cover these issues and potentially additional topics including as suggested by the successful candidate. For example, it might be possible to do a focused analysis of women or of the role of prescribed medications in deaths, or another focus, depending on the skills and interests of the researcher. Outputs will include short briefings summarising these analyses, and feed into the annual monitoring report.