Dr Carrie Friese

Carrie Friese’s research is located at the intersections of medical sociology/sociology of health and illness with science and technology studies using largely qualitative research methods. She has been an innovator of Situational Analysis, which is a methodological extension of grounded theory, with Adele Clarke and Rachel Washburn. Friese has a general interest in relational and mixed-methods research and more-than-human sociologies.

Key expertise: Medical Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, Reproduction

Carrie Friese has to date completed three major research projects in the broad area of social studies of reproduction. This includes research on: 1) donor egg and in vitro fertilisation (IVF), gender and ideas about ageing; 2) cloning, endangered species preservation and ideas about nature and technology; and 3) laboratory animals, care work and the idea of more-than-human humanitarianism. Her research on laboratory animals and care was support by a Wellcome Trust New Investigator Award and the resulting monograph was supported by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship. Across this research, Friese has explored what are often considered bioethical concerns regarding the meanings and moralities of being human but by using empirical social science research methods.

From 2024-25, Friese will be a Co-Lead on an ESRC Data and Infrastructures pilot study that is Lead by Jane Elliot. This project is entitled: “British Voices: new methods for understanding the impact of social change on individual lives.” The other Co-Leads include Travis Coan (Exeter), Mike Savage (LSE) and Gayle Munro (NatCen). Ranadheer Malla (Exeter) is a specialist on the team, and a postdoctoral researcher will be hired. The long-term vision of the UK Voices team is to augment existing data infrastructure by developing a mixed-methods, repeated cross-sectional data resource that includes detailed qualitative data with a large and representative sample of the British population. Their aim here is to conduct the rigorous scoping work necessary to inform the development of such a transformative data infrastructure.

Carrie is part of the Knowledge, Culture and Technology research cluster.

Carrie Friese convenes courses on Sociology of Health and Illness, Technology, Power and Culture and teaches on Qualitative Social Research Methods. She is the Doctoral Programme Director in the Department of Sociology. She supervises PhD students working on topics related to embodiments of health and illness, the politics of care practices, more-than-human sociologies and geographies of capitalism.