Susan Watson
Associate Lecturer

Profile

Biography

Susan Watson has extensive interdisciplinary experience in both Politics and Social Policy. Before embarking on an academic career as a mature student, Susan worked in political campaigning, research and policy development.  Susan has previously worked as a staffer for a major political party; a Parliamentary Researcher on the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee; and has served as a researcher for numerous elected representatives, including Members of Parliament and Members of the European Parliament.  She has also worked in an informal capacity for the Democratic Party in the USA. 

Susan has significant experience in the social policy sector, and has provided leadership, strategic direction, and policy development advice to a number of public and third sector bodies.

Susan now combines her past professional knowledge with her more recent teaching experience, with an emphasis on public policy. Her research interests include:

• Politics in the UK
• Politics in the USA
• Gender
• Crime
• Feminist criminology
• Social policy
• Qualitative research methods
• Using social media for research

Research

Overview

Susan is currently completing her PhD in Social Policy, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.  Her thesis is entitled “the role of social media abuse in gender-based violence: the challenge of vituperative communication in the age of new technology” and is investigating the impact of online abuse directed at women holding senior positions within policing, journalism, academia and politics.  A mixed-method, interdisciplinary study, it includes empirical evidence gathered from a series of semi-structured interviews with women in the UK and overseas, including interviews with current and former political party leaders. 

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Introduction to Democratic Politics POL00002C
• Aspects of Democratic Politics POL00006C
• Politics in the UK POL00008I 
• British Politics since 1945 POL00013I

Postgraduate

• Theories of the Policy Process POL00012M
• Principles of Policy Advice POL00081M

Publications

Selected publications

Journal Articles (under review):          

• Watson, S. (2021). Investigating the role of social media abuse in gender-based violence: the experiences of women police officers. Criminology and Criminal Justice 
• Watson, S. (2021). Online abuse of women: an interdisciplinary scoping review of the literature. Feminist Media Studies.                          

‘The Conversation’ Articles:      

• Watson, S. (2019). Analysis shows horrifying extent of abuse sent to women MPs via Twitter. The Conversation, November 6. Available at:  

Conference Presentations 

• Using NVivo as an integral part of a scoping review of the literature NVivo Virtual Conference 2021
• Investigating the role of social media abuse in gender-based violence: the experiences of women police officers British Society of Criminology Conference 2021
• The impact of online abuse on the growing digital society Architecture, Media, and Politics Society at the University of Hertfordshire 2021
• Exploring the impact of online abuse on gender-based violence: the ethical challenges of innovative research using new media New Methods New Media Network Conference 2020
• “Words do hurt me”: The impact of online abuse on gender-based violence Social Policy Association Conference 2020
• Using social media for gendered research University of York, Department of Social Policy PhD forum   2020

External activities

Overview

Susan is a member of both the British Society of Criminology and the Social Policy Association.  She is a founder member of the New Methods for New Media Network, based at Queen’s University, Belfast, and is an Associate Fellow of Advance HE, the Higher Education Academy.

Susan has spent a number of years as a volunteer advising third sector bodies on policy development and strategic planning, including seven years as a Governor at a York primary school, five of them as Chair of Governors.  She is currently Chair of a non-profit community interest childcare provider, overseeing both staff management and the legal obligations required by the Local Authority and Ofsted.