Dr Julia McDowell

Senior Research Associate

Research Interests

My research interests broadly encompass the use of technology as a vehicle for learning and empowerment, and the field of digital humanities more widely.

My PhD investigated the influence of mobile learning on the learner engagement of primary school children in outdoor settings, using a design-based research approach. I carried my interest in the use of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDAS) tools through from my doctoral studies to working on the Cinema Memory and the Digital Archive project, generating innovative findings from the analysis of interviews with 1930s cinemagoers relating to cultural memory and the life course.

Current interests are centred around exploring the cross-cutting and interdisciplinary themes emerging from the Equity for the Older: Beyond Digital Access project, and how CAQDAS tools may help crystallise findings from a series of focus groups and interviews with older adults to inform both practice and policy.