Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr. Siân Alsop is Research Fellow in the Centre for Global Learning, focusing on equity and attainment in HE. As co-investigator, she is developing a large corpus for the Story Choices project (funded by the EEF), which aims to understand best practice in early years reading. On the Access to Attainment project, she contributed to the development of a new measure for understanding difference in HE student outcomes based on ethnicity (funded by the SRHE). Using corpus linguistic techniques, she led language analysis on the Independent Diversity Review of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards (commissioned by CILIP), and also co-led a national survey on Library practice on the project Maximising the Diversity of Public Collections (commissioned by Libraries Connected). She is currently leading the development of a large corpus of feedback texts to investigate the relationship between written feedback, attainment and ethnicity.
Siân was previously a Lecturer in Academic Writing and has worked as Research Assistant on a number of projects relating to academic discourse and attainment disparity across disciplines, including the development of the British Academic Written English (BAWE). She was awarded a PhD by Coventry University in 2016 for her work on the pragmatic annotation of the Engineering Lecture Corpus (ELC).
Siân has significant experience of teaching in HE. She is currently Functional Lead for postgraduate taught provision within Global Learning, and runs the Centre's core PhD Reviewing Literature module. She has supervised three PhD theses to completion and is currently supervising 12 PhD theses (9 as Director of Studies), including joint studentships with Deakin University, in areas of feedback and assessment, academic language, attainment disparity and EDI in HE, and intersections between AI and student learning. Over the past fourteen years, she has successfully designed and delivered undergraduate and postgraduate across levels and disciplines of academic writing, linguistics, and education.
Research Interests
education, attainment, equity, corpus linguistics, academic writing, language of lectures, data visualisation, computational methods
Vision Statement
As a sector, we know that not all students have equal opportunity to succeed in their academic careers, which poses a problem for our students, for academic institutions, and for wider society. I work with large bodies of language data to understand attainment disparities among different groups of students. Through my research and classroom practice I want to contribute to our knowledge of the nature of these disparities, and to find effective ways to address them.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
External positions
Assistant Professor (adjunct), University of Luxembourg
1 Sept 2016 → 1 Sept 2019
Keywords
- PE English
- Corpus Linguistics
- Academic Writing
- Equity
- Lecture
- Discourse
- Corpora
- LB2300 Higher Education
- Assessment
- Feedback
- Equity
- Attainment
- Inclusion
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Teachers Choices - EEF Evaluation
Carroll, J. (Principal Investigator) & Alsop, S. (Research Assistant)
1/02/24 → 30/04/26
Project: Research
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A study of EME at Jilin University and surrounding institutions, with particular reference to lecture delivery in Chemistry and Physics. English-medium science lectures in northeast China: challenges and opportunities
Nesi, H. (Principal Investigator) & Alsop, S. (Co-Investigator)
1/04/23 → 31/03/24
Project: Research
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British Council English-medium Education in Higher Education China Research Partnership Grant: A study of the CPD needs of science teachers at five universities in Northeast China
Nesi, H. (Principal Investigator) & Alsop, S. (Co-Investigator)
31/03/23 → 1/04/24
Project: Research
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Teachers Choices
Carroll, J. (Principal Investigator) & Alsop, S. (Researcher)
28/01/23 → 12/10/23
Project: Research
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Maximising the Diversity of Public Collections
Tramontano, C. (Principal Investigator) & Alsop, S. (Academic)
18/03/22 → 30/12/22
Project: Consultancy
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Macro-level engagement in computer engineering MOOC lectures: comparing a high-rated and a low-rated course
Xu, X., Alsop, S. & Tsui, H., 2 Sept 2024, In: Language and Education. 38, 5, p. 838-864 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Intra and Inter-Rater Reliability of a Novel Isometric Test of Neck Strength
McBride, L., James, R. S., Alsop, S. & Oxford, S. W., 21 Dec 2022, In: Sports. 11, 1, 8 p., 2.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Citations (Scopus)207 Downloads (Pure) -
Stories and scenarios: lecturers’ use of fantastic hypothetical events
Nesi, H. & Alsop, S., Sept 2021, In: Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 53, 12 p., 101022.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Citations (Scopus)178 Downloads (Pure) -
Uses of corpus linguistics in education research: An adjustable lens
Alsop, S., King, V., Giaimo, G. & Xu, X., 2021, Theory and Method in Higher Education Research. Tight, M. & Huisman, J. (eds.). Emerald, Vol. 6. p. 21-40 20 p. (Theory and Method in Higher Education Research; vol. 6).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Open AccessFile660 Downloads (Pure) -
A corpus-driven investigation of connections between the language of written feedback information and ethnic attainment disparity in UK higher education
Alsop, S., Gardner, S. & Priestley, J., 6 Feb 2020, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
Activities
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Journal of English for Academic Purposes (Journal)
Alsop, S. (Advisory Board Member)
1 Jan 2024Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Publication peer-review
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Corpora (Journal)
Alsop, S. (Peer Reviewer)
1 Jan 2024Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Publication peer-review
Thesis
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The pragmatic annotation of academic lectures : an exploratory study applied to engineering disciplines
Alsop, S. (Author), Nesi, H. (Supervisor), 2016Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy
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