Eileen Alexander is a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Methodology.
Eileen is interested in developing a better understanding of informal everyday welfare practices in the UK and their implications for social policy. Her doctoral research draws on narrative and collaborative methods to better understand how informal financial support is exchanged between households struggling to cover their basic living costs. At the heart of her research is a focus on how informal welfare impacts people’s personal relationships and networks of support.
Before joining the Department of Methodology, Eileen conducted her doctoral research in the LSE’s Department of Social Policy, where she taught on undergraduate courses. She has also contributed to research programmes at LSE Housing and Communities and the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion. Eileen has conducted hundreds of qualitative interviews, organised focus groups, and supported participant-led research projects. She holds an MSc in Social Policy and Planning from the LSE and an undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Research Interests
Eileen’s primary methodological interests lie in the use of qualitative methods that create space for participants to actively engage with the research and express themselves in unstructured ways. She is also interested in ways in which qualitative methods can make use of visual devices and how qualitative research findings can be presented visually.
PhD Thesis: The Ultimate Safety Net? Informal financial support among low-income households (2022)