Professor Kate Dommett
School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations
Professor of Digital Politics
+44 114 222 1682
Full contact details
School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations
Elmfield Building
Northumberland Road
Sheffield
S10 2TU
- Profile
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I am Professor of Digital Politics in the Department and my research focuses on digital technology and democratic politics, with a particular focus on data use, election campaigns and regulation. I am interested in how politics is being changed by the uptake of digital technology, and how democratic institutions are adapting to use online affordances. My recent research has looked at the use of personal data for political campaigning, political advertising, and the regulation of digital politics. My previous work looked at political parties and how they are viewed by the public.
My research and teaching is driven by a desire to solve real world problems, using academic insights to inform policy development and practices around the uptake of digital tools. I have previously been a Special Advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on Democracy and Digital Technology and am currently a member of the DCMS College of Experts. I also have experience working with the media and have had my research featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC News at 10, BBC Radio 5Live, France 24 and elsewhere.
- Research interests
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My research looks at the relationship between citizens and the state in contemporary democracies, particularly looking at how this is affected by digital technology. I have a long standing interest in political parties and campaigning. At the moment I'm looking at the way that digital technology is being used in elections and by democratic organisations, asking questions including:
- How is digital technology being used in elections?
- What democratic goals should inform the use and regulation of digital technology? And how is the ‘problem’ technology poses for democracy currently understood by different audiences?
- How should digital campaigning be regulated? And what actions should the government, companies, individuals and campaigners take?
- What does good digital citizenship look like, and how can it be advanced?
Find out more about my research on digital technology.
Key projects
- 2020 - 2023: 'Data-driven campaigns: intended and unintended consequences for democracy [DATADRIVEN]’, Norface 'Democratic Governance in a Turbulent Age', €1,06 million Euro.
- 2020 - 2023: 'Understanding Online Political Advertising: Perceptions, Uses and Regulation', Leverhulme Foundation Project Grant, £390,215.
- 2016 'Renewing Party Politics? Digital Innovations in Political Campaigning', ESRC Future Leaders, £185,372
- 2017 'The Challenge of Party Membership', ESRC Impact Accelerator Funding, £21,710
- 2018 'The Challenges of Studying Political Campaigning in the Digital Realm', British Academy Rising Stars, £13,201.97
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Why Labour’s elections bill misses the point. Political Insight, 16(3), 28-30. View this article in WRRO
- What makes online political ads unacceptable? Interrogating public attitudes to inform regulatory responses. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12. View this article in WRRO
- The ‘datafication’ of campaigning in British party politics. British Politics. View this article in WRRO
- Making elections more transparent? Lessons from the implementation of digital imprints at the 2024 UK General Election. Policy Studies. View this article in WRRO
- How does rurality affect campaigning?. Electoral Studies, 95. View this article in WRRO
- Understanding the communicative strategies used in online political advertising and how the public views them. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 27(3), 720-752. View this article in WRRO
- Online political adverts: the effect of disclosures and opportunities for clandestine campaigning. Political Psychology, 46(4), 722-748. View this article in WRRO
- Are certain types of microtargeting more acceptable? Comparing US, German, and Dutch citizens’ attitudes. Media and Communication, 12. View this article in WRRO
- Editorial: Data-driven campaigning in a comparative context—toward a 4th era of political communication?. Media and Communication, 12. View this article in WRRO
- The platformisation of party politics?. Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 4. View this article in WRRO
- The truth about digital propaganda. New Scientist, 263(3506), 36-39. View this article in WRRO
- Top tips for academics engaging with the media. Political Insight, 15(2), 24-27. View this article in WRRO
- Data driven-campaign infrastructures in Europe: evidence from Austria and the UK. Journal of Political Marketing. View this article in WRRO
Book chapters
- Data-driven campaigning, The Routledge Handbook of Political Campaigning (pp. 199-212). Routledge
Preprints
- Quantifying belief in the rationality of others: the Faith in Reason scale, Center for Open Science.
- Making Elections More Transparent? Lessons from the Implementation of Digital Imprints at the 2024 UK General Election, Center for Open Science.
- Why Labour’s elections bill misses the point. Political Insight, 16(3), 28-30. View this article in WRRO
- Supervision Expertise
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- Digital Campaigning
- Electoral Politics
- Data and Politics
- Digital Regulation
- Social media platforms