Victoria Knowles

Department of Sociological Studies

PhD Student

A photo of Vicky Knowles
Profile picture of A photo of Vicky Knowles
vbknowles1@sheffield.ac.uk

Full contact details

Victoria Knowles
Department of Sociological Studies
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
91Ö±²¥
S10 2AH
Profile

Vicky joined the Department of Sociological Studies in October 2022, having studied the MA in Social Research at 91Ö±²¥ Methods Institute the previous year. Vicky’s MA dissertation focused on how the England (men’s) football team were represented by UK newsprint, during the 2020 European Championships, in light of their decision to ‘take a knee’ before match kick-off. This involved an exploratory content analysis identifying both overall sentiment towards the team and key topics of conversation across selected news sources. Vicky’s PhD research will use a combination of digital and qualitative methods to explore Twitter material (hashtags, visual media, tweets) surrounding the England football team alongside discourses of race and social justice, with a special interest in content shared during international tournaments (e.g. 2022 FIFA World Cup). 

Qualifications
  • BSc (Hons) Psychology, 91Ö±²¥ Hallam University
  • MA Social Research, University of 91Ö±²¥
Research interests
  • Digital activism
  • Digital media and online hate
  • Inequalities in sport
  • Social action + injustice
  • Mainstream media
  • Digital Methods
  • Qualitative Methods

Thesis title: English football, race and social justice in the digital age: exploring Twitter framing and discourse in the wake of ‘taking a knee’

Publications

Journal articles

  • Burns-O’Connell G, Stockdale D, Cassidy O, Knowles V & Hoare DJ () . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), 9036-9036. RIS download Bibtex download
Research group

PhD Supervisors: 

Grants

ESRC White Rose DTP +3 Award; Data, Communication and New Technologies (DCT)

Professional activities and memberships

Vicky worked as a Research Assistant for the British Tinnitus Association (BTA) in 91Ö±²¥ and provided support on multiple projects. She conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses for academic papers, projects and reports; this included collaboration with external organisations and academics from institutions across the UK, Eastern Europe and USA for an international biobank project.