Why I Research with Professor Sandy Oliver

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Why I Research

1. Where did it all begin?

I didn’t notice at the time, but growing up in a small market town gave me some interesting insights into what is ‘normal’. Having parents as teachers in my own school meant I was party to both classroom chatter and staffroom chatter. I became very familiar with different judgements and conversational tones about the very same issues and events. My father taught French and encouraged travel. I soon discovered that our English normal was not the same as other people’s normal. Just across the sea, there were not just differences in language, but also in drinking diluted wine, the ‘back to school’ supermarket shelves every August, and post-war austerity architecture. I grew up crossing boundaries on a daily basis, not necessarily understanding what I saw in depth, but watching, listening, and understanding that ‘normal’ varied.

So far, I had conformed to the normal expected of me. I’d worked hard at school, studied science when the country needed scientists, graduated in biology, and studied some more for a doctorate. Then I conformed some more by giving up all thought of a career when I had my first baby. I immersed myself in mother-to-mother support, and this proved to be a surprising turning point

2. Who inspired you?

Born into a nuclear family in the 1950s I had no memories of family births or young babies. Once pregnant myself, I threw myself into learning about a new world, attending all the antenatal classes I could find and later trained as an antenatal teacher with the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) – a charity that informs and supports expectant parents and young families.

The NCT also campaigns for better maternity services. With my science education, I wasn’t afraid of academic papers and I soon joined the Trust’s Research and Information Group. This Group developed information for antenatal teachers and parents. This information was exceptional at the time in drawing on research evidence. This provided my first experience of knowingly bringing together scientific knowledge with personal experiences gathered through a social network.

In the 1990s, at this boundary of science and everyday life, I had the privilege of working with three very thoughtful people. Iain Chalmers, having noticed that his experience as a doctor sometimes contradicted his medical training, was encouraging clinicians and patients to bring together scientific studies to inform decisions about healthcare. Ruairidh Milne was applying his critical thinking skills from public health to quietly pilot, refine and embed ways of involving patients when shaping ideas for new studies into national research programmes. Ann Oakley was combining randomised controlled trials with listening to women talking about their pregnancies and early motherhood – the beginning of ‘mixed methods’ research for more comprehensive understandings of changing life roles. In different ways, all three challenged conventions within health and science by combining knowledge from different sources. All three pioneered new ways of doing science.

3. What’s the big idea?

It’s collaborative learning. That’s more than sharing what we know and learning from each other. Instead, it’s combining science and social values to create new knowledge for important decisions. For instance, combining engineering with Indigenous knowledge to manage water holistically, applying clinical science with patients’ values for individual care, and designing accurate measures for issues that matter in our everyday lives.

4. What should we be reading?

Zeremariam Fre, a UCL author, has written about cattle herders in Ethiopia who appreciate the healing powers of antibiotics as well as their own craft of animal husbandry. While the antibiotics came from international science, it was their own observations that helped them breed the skittish cattle that raiders find more difficult to steal at night. His book helped me understand ‘two-eyed seeing’, in other words how knowledge rooted in the local community – including my own suburban England – can complement scientific advances.

I also recommend Matthew Syed, with his very readable ‘Rebel Ideas’, which crystallised my understanding about the value of working in teams. A journalist and great storyteller, he explains why teams from a mix of backgrounds are, for instance, better at espionage, safer on mountains and more successful when managing football teams.

Lastly, is Hannah Critchlow. I first came across her at the Hay Book Festival. In ‘Joined-up Thinking’, her writing about neuroscience and social science explains how better decisions are made collectively. The latest research tells us that, while women build on others’ ideas collaboratively, men’s attention to others is sharpened by competition. Both men and women face the challenge of adapting their interactive styles if they find themselves outnumbered. Critchlow is a great performer too, so I’d also recommend her You-tube video.

5. What policy changes would you like to see in your area of expertise?

I would like to see more ‘Open Science’, like our journal Research for All, where exchange of ideas really is free – for both authors and readers. UCL foots the bill with the UK's first fully open access university press. We could do with more publishers like this.

6. What’s the big question?

How can we encourage each other to think broadly, to be open-minded while also critical thinkers and creative thinkers? How can we listen attentively and integrate new ideas into what we already know, being neither set in our ways nor gullible in the face of fake news? Learning how to do this will make the most of everyone’s skills and experience.

7. What’s the answer?

Nurturing our natural curiosity and kindness, and developing our critical listening skills and sense of fairness, starting with children and working locally and globally.

8. Who or what gives you hope?

Working across and beyond academic disciplines is increasingly encouraged. Around the world, universities are reaching out more to build working partnerships with communities, and organisations in the public, commercial and voluntary sectors. At the same time, there is growing enthusiasm for turning to research evidence when considering decisions within the public and voluntary sectors. All this shows growing efforts to do research and use research collaboratively when addressing important problems.

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