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Linda Nør­gaard Mad­sen

Ph.d. Fellow

Subjects
Organisation Qualitative methods Society Welfare Sociology

Primary research areas

Front­line work
I am in­ter­ested in how front­line work­ers nav­ig­ate in­sti­tu­tion­al de­mands, emo­tion­al chal­lenges, and every­day en­coun­ters with cit­izens in their pro­fes­sion­al roles with­in wel­fare state set­tings.
Vul­ner­ab­il­ity
I am in­ter­ested in how wel­fare in­sti­tu­tions per­ceive and re­spond to vul­ner­ab­il­ity - in­clud­ing how gender and minor­ity status, and oth­er so­cial factors shape who is seen as vul­ner­able and de­serving of help. I am par­tic­u­larly in­ter­ested in how vul­ner­ab­il­ity is un­der­stood, cat­egor­ized, and man­aged in wel­fare state set­tings.
So­ci­ology of emo­tions
In my PhD pro­ject, my main the­or­et­ic­al frame­work is the so­ci­ology of emo­tions. I use this frame­work to ex­plore how emo­tions are shaped by or­gan­iz­a­tions, so­cial norms, roles and so­cial in­ter­ac­tions – and how they in turn in­flu­ence pro­fes­sion­al prac­tices and in­ter­ac­tions with cit­izens.
Poli­cing
My re­search en­gages with ex­tens­ive lit­er­at­ure on poli­cing, ex­plor­ing how it is shaped by so­cial, emo­tion­al, and in­sti­tu­tion­al dy­nam­ics. Spe­cific­ally, I fo­cus on po­lice of­ficers’ ex­per­i­ences of work­ing with in­tim­ate part­ner vi­ol­ence cases, high­light­ing the chal­lenges and com­plex­it­ies they face in this de­mand­ing area of poli­cing.
In­tim­ate part­ner vi­ol­ence
My work con­trib­utes to the grow­ing lit­er­at­ure on in­tim­ate part­ner vi­ol­ence by ex­plor­ing how po­lice of­ficers ex­per­i­ence and man­age these cases. I fo­cus on how emo­tion­al de­mands, vic­tim per­cep­tions, and pro­fes­sion­al ex­pect­a­tions shape their ex­per­i­ences and prac­tices.
Qual­it­at­ive meth­ods
I am broadly in­ter­ested in qual­it­at­ive meth­ods as a way to ex­plore how people make sense of their work, roles, and ex­per­i­ences. I am par­tic­u­larly drawn to in-depth in­ter­views and case-based ap­proaches that can cap­ture emo­tion­al, re­la­tion­al, and con­tex­tu­al di­men­sions of pro­fes­sion­al prac­tice.

I ex­plore how wel­fare in­sti­tu­tions meet vul­ner­ab­il­ity

Research interests: Emotions, welfare institutions and social problems 

My academic background is in sociology, and my research interests center around how public welfare institutions respond to vulnerability and social problems – and how frontline workers experience the encounter with the citizens they serve. I am particularly interested in emotional dynamics, tensions, and challenges in this work. 

 

PhD project: Police officers’ experiences of working with intimate partner violence 

My PhD explores how police officers experience working with intimate partner violence cases. Using qualitative interviews, I examine how they perceive victims, approach psychological violence, and navigate emotional tensions. The aim is to better understand the challenges police officers face to inform efforts to improve victims’ encounters with the legal system. 

Publications

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20 November 2025

Disciplining Empathy in Frontline Encounters

Learning to Handle Emotion Norms in Practice

Elisa­beth Nai­ma Mi­k­kel­sen, Associate Professor

Lin­da Nør­gaard Mad­sen, Ph.d. Fellow

Go to publication

2025

Caught Between Compassion and Moral Reproach

Police Ambivalence in the Wake of Intimate Partner Violence Policy Changes

Lin­da Nør­gaard Mad­sen, Ph.d. Fellow

Elisa­beth Nai­ma Mi­k­kel­sen, Associate Professor

Go to publication

Outside activities

2025 , -

No out­side activ­it­ies to re­port