Natasha Martins

Natasha Martins is a Government Social Researcher for the UK Ministry of Defence, where she conducts research and analyses data about people, society and behaviours to inform UK Government policies and decision making. Her current research focuses on the Armed Forces.

How did you get to where you are now?

For me there were two key moments which made me want to study people and focus on social research. The first was my studies: I had never intended to study social anthropology or do a Masters in nutrition and public health, but once I began my degree I was drawn to humanitarian subjects and areas where I could learn more about people and society.

During my studies and work as a public health nutritionist, I also started to appreciate the influence and importance of policy on public health and our food systems. I wanted to be at the heart of decision making and bring research and evidence into policy, so I decided to join the civil service.

The civil service Fast Stream programme helped me realise where I wanted to focus. There are many ‘fast streams’ people can choose from, ranging from diplomacy and property to economics and operational research. Social research sounded perfect for my interests, and I liked that I would be able to rotate between different government departments. While my current fast stream posting in defence is not in a public health or nutrition space, I am still learning valuable, transferable research and policy skills and I can soon go into a department more focused in the areas I am passionate about.

What do you do in your current role?

Social researchers are a type of civil servant who conduct research and analyse data to help the UK Government make decisions on a range of issues relating to people, society and behaviours. We work to help the government in power, but we need to remain impartial and unbiased in our research. I currently work in the Ministry of Defence, but social researchers sit in lots of government departments like Education, Cabinet Office, and Health.

In my work I support research on the views and experiences of the people serving in the UK Armed Forces. This helps to ensure future decisions and policies work well for people and society. Most of my time is spent conducting research and evaluation, using a variety of methods like interviews, literature reviews, and surveys. I usually work on more than one project at once and will meet with customers and teams in the department, analyse data, quality assure research and communicate my research results. When I am in the office, I tend to have big team meetings, and sometimes I attend cross-government network meetings or travel to military bases for meetings and data collection.

In my role, I have helped to improve the accommodation offers for Service Personnel, contributed to Defence strategies and made sure the voices of our Reserve forces are heard so that new policies and procedures can be put in place to improve their experiences, like improving mobilisation and training of Reserves.

What skills do you need for this role?

To be a social researcher, you need to have some research skills and experience. You can get these skills and experiences in a variety of ways. For example, from a degree, an apprenticeship, or even work experience involving social science skills like market research or behavioural science.

My other top three skills for this role are:

1. Communication: As a social researcher you are always communicating with people, either verbally or via written reports. You need to be able to explain your research, understand what different customers are asking for and keep everyone informed about your findings, including government Ministers.
2. Digital Literacy: Social researchers may need to use Excel and software programmes for statistics like ‘SPSS’ and ‘R’. In general, you also need to be confident using things like Google suite and Office 365. Over the last year, AI has started to play a big role in the civil service, so being digitally savvy is becoming more important.
3. Teamwork: Research is never a solo mission. Social researchers need to be able to work within teams of both social research professionals, and people from completely different professional backgrounds. As part of the civil service code specifically, researchers also need to be willing to hear, respect, and act-on the views and ideas of other people.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The thing I enjoy most about my role is the variety of research and evaluation projects I get to be involved with. I have travelled to Army barracks, Navy ports and RAF bases; worked with policies such as Reserve mobilisation and overseas family accommodation; and been part of networks across UK Government. It is really exciting to see your research published on GOV.UK or to know that certain evaluations and policy decisions will be influenced by your findings. In my current role, I also get to work with some incredible researchers on the civilian side as well as some amazing members of our UK Armed Forces.

Why did you choose to study social science?

For me, studying social sciences was driven by an initial interest to learn more about people and societies. At school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or study at university, but I knew I was interested in people, helping people and mental health. I decided that psychology and anthropology were most aligned to my interests and these subjects gave me a strong foundation in terms of skills and knowledge. I was also able to do lots of different modules from a range of disciplines, and developed a passion for health and nutrition which is what I studied during my Masters degree. It was through that degree programme that I began to learn more about how governments and policies can affect population health, and the different types of health interventions a government can make. From this I decided I wanted to use my social science skills and knowledge to work in a government or policy role to do just that.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

I would love to be a deputy head of an area in five years. But before then, I hope to go to the Department of Health and Social Care, Food Standards Scotland or the Food Standards Agency to begin specialising as a social researcher in one of these departments.

To progress your career as a social researcher, there is a very clear pathway and criteria you need to meet, which your manager can help you with. As you gain more experience and progress, you get the opportunity to lead on your own research projects, direct the research your team does, manage people, and influence senior policy makers using evidence-based research, amongst others.

What would you say to someone considering studying or pursuing a career in the social sciences?

My biggest piece of advice is to try as many things as you can to find out what area of social science you want to focus on. I tried A LOT of subjects during my time at school and university, and I would encourage anyone to do the same. It was only by exploring different and unusual subject areas that I was able to develop my interest in people and find out what specialist area of social sciences I wanted to go into – which was health, nutrition and policy.

Social science is a very broad area, but if you choose subjects you actually care about, and work in areas you are truly interested in, you will find success and develop your own unique set of skills. You can start exploring social sciences by reading about subjects you might be interested in or through volunteering opportunities in your local area. Don’t feel pressured to follow certain paths because of people’s expectations. Your career will last a long time so make sure it’s something you love!