Researching austerity
In this Doing Geography guide, we discuss ways of thinking about and researching how the socio-economic context impacts upon past, present and future lives. Specifically, we explore ethical, methodological and practical questions for researching on, with and during austerity. Our guide also illustrates how social change can be created in the doing as well as in the results of research.
What does the Researching austerity guide cover?
The term ‘austerity’ is used to describe policy decisions involving funding cuts to public services including health, welfare, education, local government and transport. The Austerity and Altered Life-Courses research project, on which this guide is based, uses in-depth interviewing and creative methods to explore how austerity has shaped the lives and futures of young people across Europe.
With this guide, we, therefore, reflect on this research - carried out in the UK, Spain, and Italy from 2021 - and cover the following topics:
- The ongoing nature of austerity across Europe.
- Relationships and partnership working.
- Ethics of living in and working on austerity.
- Creative and participatory methods.
- Sharing research findings and insights.
- Keeping well whilst researching austerity.
Authors: Elizabeth Ackerley, Santiago Leyva Del Rio, Laura Fenton and Sarah Marie Hall.
How to cite
Ackerley, E., Leyva del Rio, S., Fenton. L. and Hall, S. M. (2024) Researching austerity. Doing geography. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Guide.