Dr Nicole Nisbett

Profile

I joined the university in 2016 to do an MSc in Data Science and Analytics followed by a PhD in Computational Social Science.

I have worked in the civil service and inter-governmental organisations, and I am now a UKRI Postdoctoral Research Fellow in POLIS focussing on climate policies and social movements. 

Research interests

I am currently working with Dr Viktoria Spaiser on her UKRI Future Leaders Fellow research grant on how new social norms can trigger and accelerate social change (change in policies, institutions, behaviours) in response to the climate crisis. 

We will explore whether social movements such as Fridays for Futures and Extinction Rebellion help to mobilise public perceptions of the climate emergency, and how the policies proposed during the COP conferences are being justified and implemented by governments.

Before this, my PhD was funded by the ESRC White Rose DTP in collaboration with the UK House of Commons. I researched how the UK Parliament communicated with the public online and how to improve their analysis of large volumes of textual data in the form of public opinions on social media.

I developed a web-based application for their Digital Engagement team to synthesise and summarise text data using established natural language processing techniques.

• Understanding normative change to address the climate emergency

Qualifications

• PhD in Computational Social Science
• MSc in Data Science & Analytics
• BA in Linguistics

Professional memberships

• Centre for Democratic Politics
• International Parliament Engagement Network
• Political Studies Association

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Democratic Engagement