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Research
Exploring the conditions that help women, communities and the natural world to flourish.
Through interviews, listening and reflection, this research seeks to understand what supports wellbeing, belonging and meaningful contribution.
An ongoing enquiry
She Changes is an independent research project created by writer and researcher Louise Marlena Tarrier. It grows from a simple question.
What helps women, communities and the living world flourish?
This enquiry is shaped by conversations with women over fifty, by listening to stories of transitions, belonging, work, flourishing and the natural world, and by learning from the wisdom of lived experience.
The research is qualitative, relational and ethical. It is not about measurement but about understanding the conditions that enable us to thrive together.
Current
Enquiry
Our current research explores:
Flourishing in Second Spring
A multi year study of women's experiences after menopause, and the conditions that support health, purpose, belonging and flourishing
Research Notes
Reflections, observations and emerging insights from the research journey.
Take Part
Research Partnerships
Ethics & Privacy
Would you like to share your experience and help shape this research?
Interested in funding, supporting or collaborating on the next phase of the research?
Our ethical approach and how we protect your information. How the research is designed.
Explore Commissioned Research & Insight
Alongside my independent research, I undertake commissioned qualitative research for organisations that need a deeper understanding of people, communities, lived experience or emerging issues.
Projects can include stakeholder and community insight, programme learning and evaluation, exploratory research, lived-experience research and strategic insight.
The intention is always for the research to be useful, not simply interesting.
How I approach research
My research is relational, evidence-led and grounded in careful research practice. I use approaches including semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis, evidence review and participatory enquiry, drawing on quantitative methods and specialist research expertise where the question requires it.
Research design is shaped by the question being asked, who needs to be heard and how the findings will ultimately be used. I pay particular attention to informed consent, confidentiality, participant wellbeing and the distinction between what the evidence shows and my interpretation of what it may mean.
Selected research:
CarbonCare™ Voices (2021)
A year-long, multi-stakeholder research programme exploring the opportunities and constraints shaping participation in Western Australia’s carbon farming industry.
As CEO of Carbon Positive Australia, I was Project Manager for CarbonCare™ Voices, a Lotterywest-supported research programme developed in collaboration with specialist research partners Carbon West and Clear South.
The research aimed to understand a complex, emerging system from multiple perspectives. It brought together evidence from carbon project owners, broadacre landholders, potential carbon offset buyers and agricultural industry stakeholders. The published research captured more than 322 stakeholder insights and combined desk research, quantitative market research and qualitative stakeholder inquiry.
My role was to lead the project overall, working with specialist researchers and analysts to shape and deliver the enquiry, bring together its different research strands, and translate the evidence into an integrated report and recommendations.
The project included:
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a literature review and research design across four stakeholder groups;
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purposive and selective sampling;
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telephone and online survey research;
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quantitative analysis, cross-tabulation and open-ended coding;
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exploratory stakeholder interviews and thematic analysis;
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synthesis of findings across different parts of the system; and
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stakeholder peer review before publication.
The final 104-page report translated a substantial body of evidence into practical recommendations for industry, government and other stakeholders. The published report formally credits me as Project Manager alongside the specialist research, reporting, support and peer-review teams.
CarbonCare™ Voices shows how I approach commissioned research: starting with a complex question, listening across a system, bringing together the right expertise, identifying patterns in the evidence, and translating what emerges into insight that supports action.
"Research is not just about finding answers. It is about listening deeply enough for better questions to emerge." Louise-M
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