Dr Emma Cooke
Researcher biography
Dr Emma Cooke is a sociologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Kids Sleep Research Group at UQ's Child Health Research Centre (CHRC). Dr Cooke works with interdisciplinary teams to research the lived experiences of children, educators and families and is particularly interested in sleep, gender, wellbeing, and inequality. Her current research focuses on families’ experiences of having a child or sibling with sleep difficulties and a neurodisability (e.g., Down syndrome). She has expertise in qualitative research, DRAWing (Departing Radically in Academic Writing), and knowledge translation.
As a Research Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, she has researched educators’ experiences of using Information and Communication Technologies in education settings, and is currently researching technology use around bedtime in children with a neurodisability. When she was based in the Child Development, Education and Care Group at ISSR she worked on the Evaluation of the Queensland KindyLinQ Pilot Program and a range of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) research projects.
In her PhD thesis, Dr Cooke utilised a crystallization methodological framework to gain multifaceted insights into children’s rights, early childhood discourses, and children’s relaxation and unrestful experiences in ECEC. She has extensive experience interviewing children and adults across a range of contexts, and uses different qualitative analysis methodologies, including thematic analysis, discourse analysis, and creative analytical practices. An active member of the DRAW (Departing Radically in Academic Writing) Group, Dr Cooke’s recent academic work is written creatively for impact.