Claire Moran

I am a qualitative researcher and educator, with a PhD in Health Psychology from UQ. I was awarded the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Research Higher Degree Theses for this body of work.

I hold an Honorary Research Fellow position at the School of Psychology, and work across several projects within related fields. My work is driven by a deep passion for applying knowledge in diverse contexts.

My love of research and teaching has developed into the teaching of research skills, now a key area of my professional work. Since 2016, I have conducted workshops and masterclasses in qualitative research methodologies for universities in Australia and internationally. My own experiences of pursuing a qualitative PhD without research training highlighted the critical need for support in this area. To date, I have worked with over a thousand researchers to successfully complete their qualitative research projects.

My research interests focus on the social construction of sexuality and gender and the implications for overall health and wellbeing. I have worked on projects related to sexual health literacy, in both community and clinical settings, relationships and sexuality education, sexual consent, sexual behaviours in children and young people, contraception, women’s sexuality, sexuality and the media, cosmetic surgery, appearance and body image, menstruation, domestic and sexual violence, and the evaluation of training programs.

Using a range of qualitative methods (including thematic analysis, discourse analysis, thematic discourse analysis, and multi-modal critical discourse analysis), and working within interdisciplinary research teams, I have published widely on these topics across social science, education, and biomedical journals.

My passion for the application of knowledge has also seen me work extensively in industry, most recently for True Relationships where I was responsible for the development and management of True’s research portfolio and partnerships with universities and the design and delivery of professional development programs. These include the Respectful Relationships Education program, the Traffic Lights suite of resources for working with sexual behaviours in children and young people, and initiatives for First Nation’s Traffic Lights resources, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate Course in healthy sexual development.

I also have extensive expertise in gender-based violence and healthy masculinities, with a broad range of curriculum development and teaching experience across numerous educational settings. These roles have given me invaluable experience as an international facilitator, and I have consistently received outstanding feedback for my teaching.

My work is underpinned by my commitment to applying knowledge for practical impact and the greater good.

Grants:

Sexual Health Research Fund Grant: Sexual and Reproductive Health Literacy of Young Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Queenslanders (2021 Round)

Sexual Health Research Fund Grant: Perception and Acceptability of Presumptive Treatment for Bacterial STIs in High-Risk Groups and Physicians to Assess Chances of Patience Uptake and Clinical Adoption (2022 Round)

Supervision:

Communication, context and critique: understanding sexual behaviours in children and young people (Doctorate)

An evaluation of two relationships and sexuality education courses in Queensland schools (Doctorate)