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My research interests are in the role of records management in effective information policy compliance (including rights in records and government administrative data) and in the development of the archival profession in 20th century England, which is the subject of my PhD and a monograph (Archives and Archivists in Twentieth Century England, Ashgate, 2009). I am currently researching the lives and work of pioneering women archivists between the Wars.
I am interested in supervising research into all areas of archives and records management, in particular, the development and history of the profession, archival education, records management issues in particular countries or sectors, management skills for records professionals and the development and application of policies, standards and frameworks for the archives and records management discipline.
I was instrumental in establishing the International Centre for Archives and Records Management Research and User Studies, ICARUS, in 2005 in recognition of the need to develop a significant body of research which seeks to identify, understand and meet the rapid technological and intellectual changes sweeping through the archives and records management discipline. To this end ICARUS seeks to develop knowledge and enhance understanding of the creation, management and use of records and their role in society; and map, monitor and evaluate significant changes in the archives and records domain using robust evidence-based methods.
Recent research grants and projects
Archives and records management research network (ARMReN) (1/2006-12/2007), Arts and Humanities Research Council
Mapping the research landscape in archives and records management (7/2006-11/2006), British Academy Small Research Grant
Multiple narratives, multiple views: exploring the shift from paper to digital archival description (9/2007-9/2010), Arts and Humanities Research Council Collaborative Doctoral Award, with The National Archives
Community archives and identities: documenting and sustaining community heritage (2/08-10/09), Arts and Humanities Research Council
The impact of the UK Freedom of Information Act on records management in the public sector (4/2008-5/2009), Arts and Humanities Research Council
ARCHIDIS: Archives and Records Challenges in the Digital Information Society (2010-2011), European Union Erasmus Lifelong Learning Intensive Programme
Administrative Data Research Centre – England (10/2013-09/2018), Economic and Social Science Research Council
Navigating the public information rights ecology: a recordkeeping perspective on supporting information rights (10/2017-09/2019), Arts and Humanities Research Council
Research appointments and editorial boards
Appointed by the Lord Chancellor to the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (2000-2006)
Sub-committee on selection of records of GCHQ for permanent preservation (2003), British Standards Institution, member, BSI/DISC IDT/2/17 subcommittee for records management (1997-)
QAA Benchmarking Group for Library and Information Management member (1999- 2000)
Chairman, Forum for Archives and Records Management Education and Research (FARMER) (2000-2002), Arts and Humanities Research Council, Peer Review College member (2004-)
AHRC Information Science Sector Interaction Study Steering Group (2005-2006)
HEFCE, Research Assessment Exercise 2008, Sub-panel 67 member (2005-08)
HEFCE, Research Evaluation Framework 2014, Sub-panel 36 member (2013-14)
HEFCE, Research Evaluation Framework 2021, Sub-Panel 34 assessment phase member (2019-2021)
Research Information Network, Consultative Group for Librarianship and Information Science (2006-)
Editorial boards
• Taylor & Francis, Joint Editor, Journal of the Society of Archivists (2008-)
• Emerald: member, Records Management Journal Editorial Advisory Board (1994-)
• Kluwer Academic Publishers: member, Archival Science Editorial Board (2000-)
Research supervisions and examinations
PhD students, principal or second supervisor:
Laura Millar (1993-1996) The End of 'Total Archives'?: an analysis of changing acquisition practices in Canadian Archival Repositories
Victoria Lemieux (1999-2002) Competitive Viability, Accountability and Record Keeping: a theoretical and empirical exploration using a case study of Jamaican commercial bank failures
Paola Casini (1997-2004) ISAD(G): Synthesis or Innovation in Archival Description Traditions?
Nancy McGovern (1998-2008) Object-oriented Technology and its Implications for Recordkeeping: a case study on approaching new technologies
David Biggs (1994-2006) The Records of the New Towns as a Study in Records Management
Peter Sebina (2003-2007) Freedom of information and records management: a learning curve for Botswana
David Luyombya (2005-2009) Commonwealth Scholarship Commission funded. Towards effective public records management in Uganda
Jennifer Bunn (2007-2011) AHRC-funded CDA. Multiple narratives, multiple views: the shift from paper to digital archival description
Elaine Penn (2008-2014) Archives and evidence
Alexandra Eveleigh (2010-2014) AHRC-funded CDA. I think, not we think: crowdsourcing and archival description
Anthea Seles (2010-2015) DPC Award 2016 for Most Distinguished Student Work in Digital Preservation. Trusted digital repositories and their role in developing country public records systems
Kaydene Duffus (2010-2015) Commonwealth Universities Scholarship. Records management education in Jamaica
Alicia Gonzales-Ramirez (2010-2015) CONICYT Chilean government scholarship. Freedom of information and recordkeeping systems in Chile, the UK
Pimphot Seelekate (2012-2018) Thai Embassy Government Scholarship. The application of archival standards to practice in the Thai National Archives
James Lowry (2013-) Open government and archives