About Laura.

Intuition Academic Coaching Ltd was set up by Dr. Laura Hemingway; a published academic author, tutor and independent researcher living in York, with twenty years' experience of teaching and research.  Laura is educated to PhD level, with a First class BA (hons) Sociology and Social Policy, a Distinction in MA Social Research and a PhD in Social Policy, which required no corrections. Laura has held positions as university lecturer, researcher, tutor and academic coach.

Teaching.

Laura has extensive experience of teaching higher education students of different levels, including undergraduates and postgraduates, both UK and international students, including via distance learning.  She has supported (and continues to support) many international and national PhD students, providing guidance and assistance with research design, conducting literature reviews, data collection and analysis, writing and editing, as well as upgrade and viva preparation.  She also supports PhD graduates and early career researchers with the production of academic publications.

Laura’s teaching roles have involved the delivery of lectures, seminars and tutorials, as well as the marking of essays, exams, dissertations and PhD theses, which have provided her with a strong knowledge of academic expectations and requirements.  She has also supervised undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations, and been a panel member for PhD examinations.  During her teaching career, Laura has developed a range of teaching materials for a variety of different subjects within the field of social sciences.  This has included the design and delivery of a core Study Skills module, which covered fundamental writing skills for academia, including researching and notetaking, structuring academic work, developing writing styles, using different referencing styles and constructing bibliographies.  It also addressed other academic skills such as conducting presentations, exam revision/preparation, and reflecting on learning.  Creating this module enabled Laura to design, test and develop a wide range of study skills resources and materials, which she continues to use and provide existing students with. 

Research.

Laura has significant experience of conducting academic research.  Her MA and PhD research employed a range of qualitative methods to investigate disability and housing issues, including interviews with disabled people, as well as representatives from disabled people’s organisations, financial services, housing associations and estate agencies. As a member of the Centre for Disability Studies, she was involved in several research projects investigating a range of disability issues and employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, including an evaluation of services and support for disabled students for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), assessing disabled people’s access to goods and services for the Office for Disability Issues (ODI), and producing a report on social inclusion and disabled people in the UK for the Academic Network of European Disability experts (ANED).  She was also recently involved in research for the General Medical Council (GMC) on meeting the needs of disabled students.  This experience has provided her with a wealth of knowledge and skills to support not just students, but also academics in their publications. 

Publications.

Laura’s experience in writing and editing publications began in 2004 and has included journal and magazine articles, book chapters, conference papers, reports, edited books and a monograph.  Her book Disabled People and Housing: Choices, Opportunities and Barriers published by Policy Press in 2011 drew on empirical research on housing issues for disabled people, highlighting the importance of considering not just physically inaccessible environments when exploring disabled people’s relationship with - and access to - housing, but also labour market disadvantage and income issues, communication and information constraints, and the attitudes, assumptions and practices of housing and allied service providers.  She has also written a range of publications on disability and housing, natural disasters and issues of ‘difference’.