Answer my interview question please

speak s l o w l y, make jokes!

sorry that's all i got - don't really know what the potential contribution of social sciences to social and economic change over the next decade is.

Uh, what kind of interview is it?

It's a job with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in policy and/or research management. All-day assessment centre, competency-based interview, and this presentation...

will you answer questions after your 7 minutes of presenting?

7 minutes is actually not that long a time to talk - it is an eternity to answer questions, though. anyway, if you were well-versed in this i'd say just wing it, but since it's something you don't feel confident about, if i were you i would write a script with a provocative thesis - not TOO provocative - and actually memorize it. it will take several days, but you can do it. that way you won't worry, you'll know exactly what you're going to say. then anticipate what questions they'll have and be sure you have some answers for them. i don't know anything about the subject, though, i'm sorry.

Questions: yes, and 'this will take approximately 5 minutes'.

The panel wish to inform me (says my letter) that there will be no visual aids (i.e. I can't prop myself up with power point) but I can use handouts. Wahey!

Totally agree about the provocative thesis and anticipated questions. I don't need to memorise it, I'm ok with the actual presentation bit, but I'm struggling to come up with a good provocative thesis that will fill in the missing bits (politics and economics principally - but this has to be all about the contribution of research in those areas, so I have to know a bit about where research is going...)

Ned T. Rifle has suggested (offline during a visit with his lovely family) checking out the Home Office website for their research directions. Which I will. But your provocative theses very welcome.

Could always just print out this thread, use it as a handout, and propose that social science research ought to set out to solve thorny problem of integrity of interview tasks in a changing communications context.

In a certain sense, the premise doesn't make sense. If it assumes there is to be change, then are you expected to map it / account for it via the social sciences, or predict / enable it via policy?

Yes that's true paulhw. I think I should talk about research as a 'driver' (sorry) of change (e.g. social psychology affecting education policy, rightly or wrongly, not to mention neuroscience, but that ain't a social science) and also as a means of explaining change.

But it's pretty much impossible for me to do the former with politics / economics as I don't know what paradigm-bashing reserach is out there. So maybe I should stick to explaining change (which of course changes our responses which affects the situation... etc. etc.)

I agree it's a hopelessly unclear question. Maybe they are just looking for good eye contact? Hope so, that's my strong point.

IN THE YEEEEAR TWOOOOOOO THOUUUUUUSAAAAAAAAAND!

(covering up for the fact that I have no good suggestions to make)

i don't know much about british politics but i think that research about public approval towards specific sections of government and how it responds to actual policymaking is very interesting because of the power that information gives to government. but you will need to do your own research because i only know the usa.

Unfortunately, I think the contribution will be limited to this:

http://www.isteve.com/malcolm_gladwell_with_afro.jpg