Patterns of victim-survivor utilisation of domestic violence support services

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The primary research question is:What are the determinants of domestic violence support service use for women experiencing domesticviolence?This includes several sub-questions:a) How do women experiencing domestic violence currently utilise support services?b) What are the patterns of utilisation amongst women who access domestic violence service provision?c) What is the relationship between trajectories of domestic violence and the utilisation of domesticviolence support services?d) What is the contribution of domestic violence service provision to reductions in the rates of domesticviolence?e) What are the implications of the different patterns of service use for the understanding of theconnection between gendered inequalities and violence, and for the discipline of sociology?The proposed project employs a quantitative methodology to analyse two large datasets provided by thecollaborative partner. It will apply Bayesian modelling, time-to-event (TTE) models and machine learningmodels (Mohri, Rostamizadeh, & Talwalkar, 2012; Russel & Norvig, 2013). Although primarily quantitative,the project will be informed by a systematic literature review, understanding of the construction of thecategories in which the data is collected, and the theory of change.Systematic review of relevant literatureThe student will produce a systematic review of literature on help-seeking, service use by victimsurvivors,and the impact of domestic violence support services, in sociology and related disciplines. Thesystematic review will be based on database searches, grey literature, and a call for evidence circulatedvia Women's Aid's member organisations, the VAWG Research Network and the European Network onGender and Violence. This will inform subsequent phases of the research including the identification ofvariables to explore in the datasets.Identify a theory of changeInformed by the systematic review, the student will provide a reflexive analysis of measures ofeffectiveness for services. The student will identify different measures of effectiveness of serviceprovision as indicators for reductions in domestic violence. This will involve critical reflection upon thelimitations and inferences made about the dataset. This phase of the methodology will produce a theoryof change to identify impacts, outcomes and interventions necessary for improving support for victimsurvivors.This will engage with sociological understandings of the interconnections of genderedinequalities and violence.Quantitative analysis of longitudinal dataThe student will re-organise the raw data from On Track in order to define the relational tables, identifymissing and redundant data and points of overlap between the datasets. Data will be extracted, cleanedand assembled into a working dataset. The data will be held securely in compliance with GDPR. This willinvolve combining data on domestic violence support services, other agencies and victim-survivors.Patterns of missingness in the data will be addressed by multiple imputation by chained equations and alarge number of repetitions (mi<30) in order to reduce bias (Goldstein, Harron, & Wade, 2012), whennecessary to create a full dataset. Sensitivity analysis will be used comparing complete cases and fullyimputed data.