Emma Uprichard (Reader)

Academic profile

I joined Warwick and CIM in August 2012 having previously held posts at Goldsmiths, University of London (2011-2012); University of York (2007-2010); Durham University (2004-2006).

My work tackles the methodological challenge of understanding complex social systems across time and space. I creatively combine and apply quantitative, qualitative, mathematical, and computational methods - practically, theoretically, and philosophically - to model and guide policy and planning towards desired and meaningful change. (Here's an example of my work in a short project video on modelling future tempos for complex policyLink opens in a new window.)

Prospective students: Social science is changing in its methods, data, and relationship to complex policy. I am interested to hear from talented PhD students across disciplines in the following areas:

Complexity theory and its application to social systems;
Theories and methods of/for time, temporality and change;
Methods and data - qualitative, computational, AI and big data - how they've changed and what they might mean for complex policy and evaluation;
Childhood, food, chronic illness, cities and urban systems.

I value intellectual curiosity and rigour. If your interests overlap with mine, even partially, please do reach out.

Research

Subject area

Selected key roles:

2018-present: Member of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Serious Violence Research and Analysis Expert Advisory Group (EAG).

2018-23 -Alan Turing Institute Fellow Link opens in a new window developing data science methods for complex government policy and evaluation.

2017-23: Member of the UK Statistics Authority's National Statistician's Data Ethics Advisory Committee (NSDEC)Link opens in a new window.

2020-21: I led the Data Science initiatives across the University, now known as Warwick DataLink opens in a new window.

2017-19: Co-editor of the International Journal of Social Research Methodology; Link opens in a new windowI am still a Board member of the journal.

2018-present: Editorial board member for Complexity, Governance and NetworksLink opens in a new window.

2016-23: Co-Investigator, CECANLink opens in a new window - the 'Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus’ (led by Prof. Nigel Gilbert), which pioneers, tests and promotes innovative policy complex evaluation approaches across UK government departments. This national research centre is funded and supported by the ESRC, Dept. of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Dept. for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Environment Agency (EA), and Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Previously, I led the University of Warwick's Nuffield/ESRC/HEFCE Q-Step bid (£1.3mil) and subsequently set up what is now the Warwick Q-Step CentreLink opens in a new window, part of a trail-blazing initiative designed to promote a step-change in quantitative social science training in the UK.

Selected Publications

A complete list of my publications can be found on my Google Citations profile.Link opens in a new window

Books

Book series co-editor (Routledge) - 11 titles

Complexity in Social Sciences - with David Byrne

This interdisciplinary series encourages social scientists to embrace a complex systems approach to studying the social world. Covering a broad range of topics from big data and time, globalization and health, cities and inequality, and methodological applications, to more theoretical or philosophical approaches, this series responds to these challenges of complexity in the social sciences – with an emphasis on critical dialogue around, and application of these ideas in, a variety of social arenas as well as social policy.

Books

Uprichard, E. (forthcoming, 2027) Time and Method, Routledge.

Uprichard, E. and Martin, S. (Forthcoming, October 2026) Understanding The Complexity of Pacing in Long Covid: A New Approach to Chronic Illness, Bristol: Policy Press.

Byrne, D., Callaghan, G. and Uprichard, E. (2025) Global Crises: Complexity based research and practice for social transformationLink opens in a new window. Bristol: Policy Press.

Edited books

Lury, C., Fensham, R., Heller-Nicholas, A., Lammes, S., Last, A., Michael, M., Uprichard, E. (eds), (2018) Routledge Handbook of Interdisciplinary Research MethodsLink opens in a new window, Oxon: Routledge.
Byrne, D. and Uprichard, E (eds) (2012) Cluster AnalysisLink opens in a new window.
London: Sage. Four Volume Set:
- Vol. 1: ‘Logic and Classics’;
- Vol. 2: ‘Useful Key Texts’;
- Vol. 3: ‘Cluster Analysis in Practice’;
- Vol. 4: 'Data Mining with Classification’.

Hidden tab - Do not delete or move - Needs to be on second position Journals

Bednarowska, Z. and Uprichard, E. (2025) 'Bringing interdisciplinary data science education challenges into the classroom'Link opens in a new window, Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/26939169.2025.2507366
Uprichard, E., Edwards, R. and M. Williams (2018) IJSRM’s 100th issue, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 21:1, 1-6, DOI:10.1080/13645579.2018.1398809
Halls, A., Uprichard, E. and Jackson, C. (2018) Changing Girlhoods – Changing Girl Guiding, The Sociological Review. 66, 1,https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0038026117710420.
Uprichard, E. and Dawney. L. (2016) Data Diffraction: Challenging Data Integration in Mixed Methods ResearchLink opens in a new window, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Published online before print October 20, 2016, doi: 10.1177/1558689816674650.
Uprichard, E. (2016) 'Reply to Smith and Atkinson',

Special Issue in International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 'Celebrating 50 years of Cicourel's Method and Measurement in Sociology'. 19 (1): 131-136.
Moor, L. and Uprichard, E. (2014) 'The Materiality of Method: The Case of the Mass Observation Archive', Sociological Research Online, 19 (3): 10.
Uprichard, E., Nettleton, S. and Chappell, P. (2013) Food hates over the life course: an analysis of food narratives from the UK Mass Observation ArchiveLink opens in a new window, Appetite, 17: 137-143.
Uprichard, E. (2012) Describing Description (and Keeping Causality): The case of academic articles on food and eating, 1950-2009?Link opens in a new window, Sociology, 47 (2): 368-382.
Uprichard, E. (2012) Being Stuck in (Live) Time: The sticky sociological imagination.Link opens in a new window Sociological Review Monograph, Live Research Methods, Back, L. and Puwar, N. (eds), 60 (1): 124-138.
Uprichard, E. (2012) 'Sampling: Bridging probability and non-probability designs'Link opens in a new window, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 16 (1): 1-11.
Uprichard, E. (2012) 'Dirty Data Longitudinal Classification SystemsLink opens in a new window', Sociological Review, 59 (2): 93-112.
Uprichard, E., (2011) 'Narratives of the Future: Complexity, time and temporality' in Handbook of Methodological Innovations in the Social Sciences, Williams, M. and Vogt, P. (eds), London: Sage, pp.103-119.
Uprichard E (2010) Questioning Research with Children: Discrepancy between Theory and Practice?Link opens in a new window' Children & Society. 24(1):3-13.
Uprichard E (2008) Children as 'Being and Becomings': Children, Childhood and Temporality.Link opens in a new window Children and Society, 22(4): 303–313.
Byrne, D. and Uprichard, E., (2007) 'Crossing levels: The potential for numerical taxonomy and fuzzy set approaches to studying multi-level longitudinal change', Methodological Innovations Online, 2, 1.
Parker, S., Uprichard, E. and Burrows, R. (2007) 'Class Places and Place Classes: Geodemographics and the spatialization of class'Link opens in a new window, Information, Communication and Society, 10(6): 902-921.
Uprichard E and Byrne D (2006) 'Representing Complex Places: A Narrative ApproachLink opens in a new window', Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 38(4). 10.1068/a37333

Other

Book chapters

Martin, S. and Uprichard, E. (2025) 'Long covid times: an x/twitter-informed rhythmanalysis of pacing', in D. Lupton (ed), Long COVID and Society, Palgrave, pp. 59-81. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-9168-5_3Link opens in a new window
Uprichard, E. (2018) 'Capturing and Composing: Doing the epistemic and the ontic together', in Lury, C. et al. Routledge Handbook of Interdisciplinary Research Methods, Oxon: Routledge, pp. 83-90.
Caves, L., Teixeira de Melo, A., Stepney, S., and Uprichard, E. (2018) 'Time Will Tell: Narrative expressions of time in a complex world' in R. Walsh and S. Stepney (eds) Narrating Complexity,Springer, Chapter 19, pp. 269-284.
Mahnke, M. and Uprichard, E. (2013) 'Algorithming the AlgorithmLink opens in a new window' in K. Reneacute and M. Rasch (eds), Society of the Query Reader: Re-actions on Web Search, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, pp. -270.
Byrne, D. and Uprichard, E. (2012) 'Useful Complex Causality', in H. Kinkard (ed),Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Social Science, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 109-129.
Uprichard, E. (2011) 'Narratives of the Future: Complexity, Time and Temporality',Link opens in a new window in Vogt, W. Paul and Williams, Malcolm, (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Innovation in Social Research Methods, London: Sage, pp. 103-119.
Uprichard E. (2009) 'Introducing Cluster Analysis - what can it teach us about the case?' In D. Byrne and C.C. Ragin (eds)The SAGE Handbook of Case-Based Methods, London: Sage, pp.132-143.
Mayhew, E., Uprichard, E., Beresford, B., Ridge, T., & Bradshaw, J. (2004) 'Children and childhood in the United Kingdom', In A. Jensen (ed), Children's welfare in ageing Europe, Trondheim: Norwegian Centre for Child Research, pp. 403–457.

Encyclopedia Entries/Blogs/Policy Reports

Uprichard, E. and Jackson, C. (2017) 'Classification' in George Ritzer (ed) Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2nd Edition. Blackwell.
Uprichard, E. and Jackson, C. (2017) 'Data' in B. S. Turner (Ed.) Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, doi:10.1002/9781118430873.est0618.
Uprichard, E. (2017) Complexity, in B. S. Turner (Ed.) Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, doi:10.1002/9781118430873.est0596.
Uprichard, E., Penn, A., Barons, M., Liddon, A. Byrne, D.; Befani, B.; Wilkinson, H.; Smith, J.Q. (2016) Dependency Models. CECAN Evaluation and Policy Practice Note (EPPN) No. 4 for policy analysts and evaluators. https://www.cecan.ac.uk/eppn-no-04-dependency-models/.
Uprichard E (2015) 'Policy Briefing: A Smart City's Perspective', Link opens in a new windowDiscover Society. Policy & Politics, 23.
Uprichard, E. (2015) 'Most big data is social data: The analytics need serious interrogation', Philosophy of Data Science. Impact of Social Science blog. London School of Economics.
Uprichard, E. (2014) 'Big Doubts about Big Data', The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 2013.
Uprichard, E. (2013) 'Big Data - Little Questions?'Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, Discover Society, Focus, 1.
Hackett, S. and Uprichard, E. (2007) Animal Abuse and Child Maltreatment: a review of the literature and findings from a UK study', NSPCC report. https://nationallinkcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/NSPCC-Review.pdf.
Pain, R. Uprichard, E., Warren, J. (2004) Lifemapping: Trajectories of exclusion and young people’s views on Identification, Referral and Tracking(IRT), Report to County Durham Identification Referral and Tracking Initiative, The University of Durham.
Uprichard E (2002) Class, Space and Community: A Workshop Conference. International Labor and Working-Class History 61. Cambridge University Press: 161–164. DOI: 10.1017/S014754790200011X.

Projects and Grants

NB. *** denotes external awards.
***2021-22: Alan Turing Fellowship. Intergenerational Tempos: Methods for Complex Policy and Data Futures.

***2018-20: Alan Turing Fellowship. Linking and Modelling Tempos for Complex PolicyLink opens in a new window. See the short films, layers of changeLink opens in a new window and rhythmsLink opens in a new window about this work.
***2016-23: Co-I. CECANLink opens in a new window- Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus. PI: Prof. Nigel GilbertLink opens in a new window. ESRC. Start Date: 01/03/2016. Project End Date: 01/03/19. Centre funding by ESRC renewed until 2023. £3.6mil
***2013-19: PI/Director. Warwick Q-Step Centre. Nuffield/ESRC/HEFCE. £1.34mil
***2016-17: Co-I. Understanding the Impact of Outreach on Access to Higher Education. PI: Dr Clare Crawford, funded by the Office of Fair Access (OFFA) with partnership with The Sutton Trust. £30,000
2016-17: Co-I. Computing for All - An Interdisciplinary Module Development. PI: Dr J. Kermode. Warwick Institute of Advanced Teaching and Learning, £7,103
***2016-17: PI: N of 1 in Social Science? (with Dr Wendy Dyer). NCRM/International Journal of Social Research Methodology. Seminar Competition. £1,500
***2015-16: IBM Faculty Award (PI): Big Data and Real Time Analytics: Ethics and Data Linkage. With Dr Maria Liakata and Dr Arne Strauss. $20,000.
***2015: UNDP-CIM: Visualizing Climate Change Adaptation: Using 'Integrated Analytics' To Learn Lessons In Cabo Verde.$70,000. See further details hereLink opens in a new window.
2015-16. PI. Big Data Network, University of Warwick Learning and Development Centre, £1,000
2015-16: PI. Big Data and Integrated Analytics, University of Warwick Research Development Fund. £5,500
2015-16 Co-I: Where, When and Why Do Accidents Happen? A Preliminary Study for the Space-time Analysis and Causality Study on Traffic Accidents. (PI: Dr Naru Shiode). University of Warwick Research Development Fund. £15,900
2015: Women in STEM subjects: Complexity, Big Data and Method (PI), University of Warwick ESRC Acceleration Impact Award, and Athena Swan Equality and Diversity. £2,250
2014-15: Talking Big Data (PI). University of Warwick ESRC Acceleration Impact Award. £10,000
***2014-17: ESRC Seminar Series (PI): Complexity and Method in the Social Sciences: An Interdisciplinary ApproachLink opens in a new window, with D. Byrne and B. Castellani, Project Start Date: 15/02/2014 Project End Date: 15/02/2017. £30,000.
2013-14: Complexity and Case-Based Methods Research (CCBMR), Funded by: Research Development Fund (RDF 13/14 DA). Project Start Date: 01/08/2013 Project End Date: 31/07/2014, £9,700
2013-14 PI: Time-Space Trajectories of Wellbeing and Place: An Interdisciplinary Approach. University of Warwick Research Development Fund ((RDF 13-14 SA). Start Date: 01/08/2013 Project End Date: 31/07/2014. £11,000.
***2009-2013: ESRC First Grants: Food Matters: A Sociological Case Study of Food and Eating Across The Life Course in York C. 1945 - 2010, £138,500
2009. PI. What is Sociology? (With Prof. Colin Campbell), University of York Pump Priming Fund, £3,000
2008 PI. Online Quantitative Pedagogy. (with Dr Abbi Hobbs), York Virtual Learning Environment, £3,124
2002-05. Network member. Chileren's Welfare. EU Cost A19. 1 of only 2 UK member on the Children's Access to Space and Time group.

Teaching

Modules

At CIM, I usually teach the following modules

IM903 - Complexity in the Social Sciences (currently not running)
IM926 - Research Design, Practice and Ethics
IM952 - Big Data Research: Hype or Revolution?
IM950 - Scaling Data and Societies

My office hours are 3.30pm - 4.30pm on Tuesday and Friday. Please email to book an appointment.

Supervision

I have supervised the following research students:

Anton Gumenskiy: Time as Medium: Adaptation of the Russian-speaking Migrants in the UK - to complete Nov. 2027 (full-time)
Modupe Adeoyo: Complex Trauma - to complete Jan. 2027 (part-time)
Andra Sonea: National Critical Infrastructure - to completed 2025 (part-time).
Lisa Stoltz: Exploring Visual Research through a Complexity Lens. Completed 2024 (full-time)
Han Wen: How Branding is Changing Everyday Life in China. Completed 2022 (full-time)
Nathalie Mezza-Garcia: Complex Governance and SeaZones: The Floating Island Project. Completed 2020. (full-time)
Paz Saavedra: Caring for the past in traditional practices of care. Completed 2020 (full-time)
Jo Trowsdale: Art-making as a site for education: a case study of The Imagineerium Project. Completed 2020 (part-time)
Samantha Martin: Coeliac Disease: Chronic Illness and Self-Care in the Digital. Completed 2017 (full-time)
Ali Dodson: Schelling’s Bounded Neighbourhood Model: A systematic investigation. Completed 2014.
Davita Gunbay. Children’s childhoods: Exploring childhood through children’s interpretations of television advertisements in North Cyprus. Completed 2012.

Public Engagement and Impact

2017-present. Member, Department for Education’s (DfE) Serious Violence Research and Analysis Expert Advisory Group (EAG).

2017-2023, Member, The National Statistician's Data Ethics Advisory Committee (NSDEC)Link opens in a new window between 2017-2023.

2014: Invited Panel. Big Data and Governance: balancing risks and rewardsLink opens in a new window. Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology, 6 Nov.

2013: Big Data gets big numbers at Warwick. Insite. University of Warwick Press Release.

Contact details

Email:

E.Uprichard@warwick.ac.uk

Phone:

+44 (0)78554 99829

Mailing address:

Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies

Room B0.07

University of Warwick

CV4 7AL