Sociology Summer Internship – The Occupy Movement

By Emma Pole

"Occupy: In Theory and Practise" is a continuing research project with the proposed outcome of a published journal article. My main roles throughout the course of the internship were to undertake a literature review, write an extended brief of the movement, and a data gathering exercise leading to discourse analysis using NVivo. Going forward, we will use our discourse analysis and the knowledge gained from the literature review and briefing to devise an interview schedule. We then hope to interview key figures from two prominent Occupy sites – Occupy Wall Street and Occupy London.

My experience as a student researcher has been incredibly positive. The academic staff welcomed me on board on a professional level, and treated me as part of the team. This opportunity has reinforced my desire to continue with post-graduate study and has given me confidence in my research abilities. Whether I am able to stay at CCCU or in applying elsewhere, I am certain that this project will aid my application – not only in terms of actual research experiences, but having contributed to a published article whilst studying at undergraduate level. Being involved in an ongoing research project is exciting and rewarding; I am grateful to all the staff that have been involved in giving me this opportunity.

'My experience as a student researcher has been incredibly positive. Academic staff welcomed me on board on a professional level, and treated me as part of the team. This opportunity has reinforced my desire to continue with postgraduate study and has given me confidence in my research abilities.' 

Emma’s internship involved researching the ‘collective action frames’ of the Occupy movement in the UK and USA. Emma worked closely with Dr Matthew Ogilvie and Dr David Bates on this project. As a result of her work on the project Emma was a named author on her first academic publication :She is currently studying for her PhD with us, where she continues to research the Occupy movement.

Emma Pole's research poster