Victoria Clarke completed an undergraduate degree in psychology at
Brunel University; she graduated in July 1997.[3] After graduation, Clarke started a PhD in the Department of Social Sciences at
Loughborough University supervised by Professor
Celia Kitzinger (and later Professor
Jonathan Potter and Professor
Sue Wilkinson). Her PhD - in
women's studies and
psychology – focused on lesbian and gay parenting.[4] This research further advanced the intersection between queer psychology and qualitative methods – she explored the social construction of
LGBT parenting from both a
queer studies and critical psychological perspective. Clarke graduated from Loughborough in July 2002. Lastly, Clarke got her postgraduate certificate in higher education at
University of the West England, Bristol, graduating in July 2004.[3]
Career
Between October 1997 and March 2002, Clarke was a PhD student in the Department of Social Sciences at
Loughborough University. Her PhD research explored the social construction of lesbian and gay parenting – in psychology and mainstream media. She published papers on television talk show debates about same-sex parenting,[5] on arguments used by opponents of same-sex parenting to justify their opposition to equality for lesbian and gay families[6] and arguments about children's need for male role models[7] and 'concerns' about homophobic bullying.[8] She also published several papers critically exploring the representation of same-sex parenting in psychological research - exploring themes of sameness and difference,[9] the rhetoric of pseudoscience[10] and constructions of lesbians as parents in psychological literature from 1886 to 2006.[11]
Clarke's main area of focus is
qualitative research and particularly the reflexive approach to
thematic analysis she has developed with Professor Virginia Braun at The University of Auckland. The 2006 paper[1] in which they originally outlined their approach has over 59,000
Google Scholar citations and according to Google Scholar is the most cited academic paper published in 2006. An open access version is available from the
University of the West of England Research Repository. Braun and Clarke have a
thematic analysis website at The University of Auckland. This includes an extensive reading list, FAQs and links to their lectures on thematic analysis on YouTube. They have written numerous chapters, editorials, commentaries and encyclopedia entries on thematic analysis.
^
abBraun, Clarke; Clarke, Victoria (2019). "Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis". Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 11 (4): 589–597.
doi:
10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806.
S2CID197748828.
^Clarke, Victoria (2001). "What about the children? Arguments against lesbian and gay parenting". Women's Studies International Forum. 24 (5): 555–570.
doi:
10.1016/S0277-5395(01)00193-5.
^Clarke, Victoria (2002). "Sameness and difference in research on lesbian and gay parenting". Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology. 12 (3): 210–222.
doi:
10.1002/casp.673.
^Clarke, Victoria (2000). "'Stereotype, attack and stigmatize those who disagree': Employing scientific rhetoric in debates about lesbian and gay parenting". Feminism & Psychology. 10 (1): 152–159.
doi:
10.1177/0959353500010001018.
S2CID144959581.
^Clarke, Victoria (2008). "From outsiders to motherhood to reinventing the family: constructions of lesbians as parents in the psychological literature – 1886-2006". Women's Studies International Forum. 32 (2): 118–128.
doi:
10.1016/j.wsif.2008.03.004.
^Burgoyne, Carole; Clarke, Victoria (2006). "'All My Worldly Goods I Share with you'? Managing Money at the Transition to Heterosexual Marriage". The Sociological Review. 54 (4): 619–637.
doi:
10.1111/j.1467-954X.2006.00663.x.
S2CID143252530.