Kate Gibson

Dr. Kate Gibson is a researcher affiliated with the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University, focusing on mixed methods and ethnographic approaches to understand health interventions and social dynamics. Her current work evaluates a social prescribing initiative, exploring how marginalized communities interact with voluntary sector services through participatory and mobile methods.

Her academic journey includes a PhD (2014) on middle-class food practices, employing innovative methods like photo elicitation and kitchen-based interviews. Prior to this, she worked as a research assistant in Australia analyzing historical literary references. She emphasizes reflexivity and challenges traditional hierarchies of knowledge production, inspired by Pierre Bourdieu's theories.

Methodologically, she prioritizes ethnography, participatory design, and mobile methods to uncover 'unsaid' aspects of participants' lives. Recent fieldwork has involved following service users in their daily environments, including allotment work and household interactions, to better grasp health intervention impacts amid socioeconomic contexts.

Notable influences include her career in hospitality and motherhood, which inform her focus on class distinctions and everyday practices. Her research bridges qualitative methodologies with critical social theory, aiming to democratize knowledge production through collaborative practices.