The Network for Family Research

Ideas of ‘family’ are central to public and political discourse, and to welfare policy and practice, in Norway and internationally.  Much of our research across disciplines within NOVA entails thinking about ‘family’, across diverse topics including child and youth welfare, the penal system, life course and generational studies, housing, migration and early childhood research. The Family Research Network brings together this rich knowledge to think through the complexity of ‘family’ across research groups and disciplines within the research institute NOVA. 

The aim of the research network is to provide a supportive space in which to reflect critically and creatively about the dynamic complexities of ‘family’, by thinking together across disciplines. Through 2023, we are focusing on discussions of methodologies for family research. In 2024, we will be working on a planned book on ethical and methodological challenges involved in conducting research with implications for family lives, within the context of (un)concerned welfare states.

The network is open to all researchers at NOVA. We have a core membership, but anyone within NOVA is welcome to attend (and can choose to become a core member at any time). Network members meet monthly, taking turns to present their work and suggest joint readings. We share and support the development of research at all stages – from emerging ideas to developing plans, to discussion of work-in-progress – and also explore possibilities for new collaborations and collective work on family.

The network is hosted by Monica Five Aarset, Senior Researcher in the Childhood, Family and Child Welfare department and Janet Boddy (sussex.ac.uk), Adjunct Professor at NOVA (and Professor of Child, Youth and Family Studies at the University of Sussex).

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