Elisabeth’s research focuses on qualitative methodology, particularly the diary-interview method and creative interview techniques within identity studies. She is currently involved in FWF-funded research examining state governance and religious freedom during the COVID-19 pandemic, conducted by the University of Innsbruck and University of Vienna. She also has experience in research proposal development through her work at the University of Vienna’s Gender Research Office.
A notable project was the ‘Out at Cambridge’ study (2019), where she worked as a full-time researcher conducting and analysing 55 interviews on LGBTQA+ experiences in higher education. The findings were disseminated through academic talks, videos, policy reports, and publications.
Her independent research portfolio comprises three empirical studies examining identity construction, parenting roles, and care relationships, employing diverse qualitative research methods across her postgraduate degrees.
Additional experience includes research assistant positions at Cambridge and Innsbruck, providing foundational collaborative research experience across multiple institutions and disciplines.
| Date | Institution | Position & Project | Tasks & Methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08.2025 – 08.2026 | University of Innsbruck (Faculty of Catholic Theology) & University of Vienna (Faculty of Catholic Theology) | Empirical researcher (part-time employment) – ‘Freedom of Religion and Belief in Times of Pandemic’ (In German: Religionsfreiheit in Zeiten der Pandemie) | – recruitment – conducting 17 semi-structured expert and elite interviews (online & in person) – thematic analysis of 45 expert and elite interviews – methodology section writing – talks & publications |
| 03.2025 – 12.2025 | University of Vienna (Department of Education) | Research fellow (institutional affiliation for FWF project development) | (see row below) |
| 10.2024 – 07.2025 | University of Vienna (Gender Research Office) | Research proposal writer for FWF project (freelance) | – designing diary-interview method study as part of wider research project – methodological literature review – co-writing research proposal – proofreading and shortening proposal |
| 10.2019 – 12.2024 | University of Cambridge (Department of Sociology) | PhD researcher (fully funded) – ‘Choices of non-normativity: On coming out as LGBTQA+ within higher education settings’ | – literature review – study design – ethics application – recruitment – conducting 60 semi-structured interviews (online) – thematic analysis (transcription, coding via ATLAS.ti) – diversity advisory board – theory development – talks and publications |
| 03.2021 – 03.2022 | University of Cambridge (Newnham College) | Student researcher (volunteering) – ‘Newnham Queer Archive’ project | – co-writing grant proposal (Newnham College anniversary grant) – co-writing ethics application |
| 10.2019 – 06.2020 | University of Cambridge (lgbtQ+@cam, Department of Sociology) | Research assistant (part-time employment) | – YouTube video series on ‘Out at Cambridge’ study – talks on ‘Out at Cambridge’ study findings – book chapter on ‘Out at Cambridge’ study findings |
| 01.2019 – 09.2019 | University of Cambridge (lgbtQ+@cam, Department of Sociology) | Empirical researcher (full-time employment) – ‘Out at Cambridge’ | – ethics application – recruitment – conducting 55 semi-structured interviews (in person) – thematic analysis (transcription, coding) – co-writing research report – talks & publications |
| 10.2018 – 01.2019 | University of Cambridge (ReproSoc, Department of Sociology) | Research assistant (part-time employment) | – blog post writing – reference checking – website assistance – assisting conference organisation |
| 10.2017 – 06.2018 | University of Cambridge (Department of Sociology) | MPhil researcher – ‘”I can’t be a parent if I’m not there”: Investigating how leave shapes parental identity experience among female same‐sex parents’ | – literature review – study design – ethics application – conducting 10 bigraphical, creative (sentence completion) interviews with 10 participants (online & in person) – conducting semi-structured two-week-long daily diaries with 6 participants/3 couples + regular checking-in dates – conducting creative (photo elicitation) diary-based follow-up interviews with 4 participants – thematic analysis (transcription, coding via NVivo) – conference talk |
| 10.2016 – 08.2017 | University of Oxford (Department of Education) | MSc researcher – ‘Relearning gender: Exploring lesbian women’s parenting roles’ | – literature review – study design – ethics application – participant observation with 4 participants/2 couples – biographical, creative (photo elicitation) interviews with 4 participants (in person) – 2 creative (task mapping) couple interviews – narrative analysis (transcription, ethnographic portraiture) |
| 04.2015 – 04.2016 | University of Innsbruck (Institute for Psychosocial Intervention and Communication Research) | Student assistant (part-time employment) | – literature searches – proofreading – translating publications from German into English – exam supervision – administrative tasks (copying, organising, printing) |
| 10.2014 – 08.2015 | University of Innsbruck (Faculty of Educational Sciences) | Undergraduate researcher – ‘Beyond pure love: A definition of child instrumentalisation’ | – literature review – gift theory – attachment theory – writing up BA thesis (in English) – nominated for the 2015 Global Undergraduate Awards & presentation at Global Summit in Ireland |
