Research has been an integral part of my career since I joined the History department at the University of Manchester as a fresh faced postgraduate student back in 2004. After completing an MA and PhD there, I held a research fellowship at Brunel University London for five years.
I’ve continued to use the skills that
I honed as an academic since becoming a writer, editor and speaker. I cannot recall a single article that hasn’t involved some degree of research, from finding the right experts to interview to discovering the ideal stat to nail an argument.
Likewise with editing, where you can find yourself plumbing the depths of the internet to find out where exactly the writer pulled a vital piece of information from.
I now offer research as a service. This could be producing a report on a subject I specialise in or providing qualitative evidence that brings another piece of work to life – or something else altogether.
For example, I’ve supported a journalist writing a biography by spending time with my head down in the British Library discovering the historical context that she needed. I’m also working with a fiction author to provide a package of material to support the story that she is trying to tell.
My input can range from an hour long telephone consultation to a multi-day trip to an archive or location with a report completed afterwards. Get in touch to find out more and see if my research expertise can be of benefit to you and/or your organisation. My email is rae@raeritchie.com.
Rae Ritchie 