Jacobson, Jessica and Murray, Alexandra and Templeton, Lorna
(2024).
Voicing Loss: Meanings and Implications of Participation by Bereaved People in Inquests: Qualitative Interviews and Group Discussions, 2021-2024.
[Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex:
UK Data Service.
10.5255/UKDA-SN-857425
Coroners in England and Wales are independent judicial officers who investigate violent, unnatural and unexplained deaths, and deaths in prison or other forms of state detention. Every year, around 200,000 deaths are reported to the coroner, and well over 30,000 inquests are held. The Voicing Loss project was a collaboration between the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London, and the Centre for Death & Society at the University of Bath. The project examined the role of bereaved people in coroners’ investigations and inquests, as defined in law and policy and as experienced in practice. It also explored ways in which the inclusion and participation of bereaved people in the process can be better supported. The core component of the research involved interviews with 89 individuals who had come into contact with the coroner service following the death of someone they were close to. The researchers also interviewed 82 coronial professionals (including coroners, coroners’ officers, lawyers and others) and 19 individuals who had given evidence to an inquest in a professional capacity or supported colleagues who were witnesses. This constitutes the largest ever empirical study of lay and professional experiences of the coronial process in England and Wales.
The study’s key findings are presented in a series of research reports and policy and practice briefings available through the dedicated project website, https://voicing-loss.icpr.org.uk/.
Data description (abstract)
The Voicing Loss research project examined the role of bereaved people in coroners’ investigations and inquests. Research data comprise interview transcripts, interview write-ups and one written submission. The total number of interviews will differ from the number of uploaded transcripts, as participants were given the choice to opt out of having their transcript included in the repository.
| Data creators: |
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| Contributors: |
| Name |
Affiliation |
ORCID (as URL) |
| Rumble Hannah |
University of Bath |
|
| Cooper Penny |
Birkbeck, University of London |
|
| Kong Camillia |
Queen Mary |
|
|
| Sponsors: |
Economic and Social Research Council
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| Grant reference: |
ES/V002732/1
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| Topic classification: |
Law, crime and legal systems
Social welfare policy and systems
Society and culture
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| Keywords: |
INQUESTS, BEREAVEMENT, CAUSES OF DEATH
|
| Project title: |
Voicing loss: Meanings and implications of participation by bereaved people in inquests
|
| Grant holders: |
Professor Jessica Jacobson
|
| Project dates: |
| From | To |
|---|
| 1 May 2021 | 31 May 2024 |
|
| Date published: |
08 Nov 2024 17:20
|
| Last modified: |
08 Nov 2024 17:20
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| Collection period: |
| Date from: | Date to: |
|---|
| 9 February 2022 | 31 May 2023 |
|
| Geographical area: |
England and Wales |
| Country: |
United Kingdom |
| Data collection method: |
Interviews were conducted between February 2022 and May 2023. A total of 190 respondents were recruited through a combination of purposive, convenience and snowball sampling. 89 were individuals who had experience of the coroner service since 2012, following the death of someone they were close to; 82 were coronial professionals, for example coroners, coroners’ officers, volunteers, lawyers and others with expertise relating to the coronial system; 19 were individuals who had experience of giving evidence to inquests in a professional capacity, and/or supporting colleagues as witnesses. Most interviews were conducted on a one-to-one basis, but there were some paired and group discussions. Interviews were audio-recorded and professionally transcribed, other than two in which the respondents requested that written notes rather than an audio-recording be taken, and one bereaved respondent provided written responses to the questions, by email. |
| Observation unit: |
Individual, Family, Group |
| Kind of data: |
Numeric, Text |
| Type of data: |
Qualitative and mixed methods data |
| Resource language: |
English |
|
| Data sourcing, processing and preparation: |
Interviews and group discussions were audio recorded and transcribed professionally (other then in two cases in which written notes were taken, and one in which written responses to questions were provided). All respondents were asked to give consent to their transcripts/notes being archived; where consent was provided, the transcripts/notes were anonymised by the project team in preparation for archiving.
Additional information, such as demographic information, date of the interview/group discussion, professional role category, and relationship to the deceased, has been provided on each transcript (as applicable). Further anonymised information on all three interviewee groups is provided in the metadata file titled ‘Interview Demographic information’.
Information includes:
- Coronial interviewees (group A): professional group role, gender, number of interviewees.
- Witness interviewees (group B): gender, organisation type, role type, region, inquest attendance, level of experience of attending inquests, number of interviewees.
- Bereaved interviewees (group C): number of deaths and inquests discussed, attendance at the inquest hearing, year of inquest, year of death, length of time between death and inquest hearing, length of inquest hearing, relationship to deceased, region and gender of interviewee and gender/region/age of the deceased person, and number of interviewees
The spreadsheet contains anonymised data for all participants. Only anonymised transcripts where interviewees gave consent have been uploaded, so there will be a difference in the number of interviews listed in the spreadhsheet and the number uploaded to the repository.
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| Rights owners: |
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| Contact: |
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| Notes on access: |
The Data Collection is available for download to users registered with the UK Data Service.
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| Publisher: |
UK Data Service
|
| Last modified: |
08 Nov 2024 17:20
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