Paul O’Connor came to NUIG as a Research Methodologist in July 2010. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Aberdeen in 2002, M.Sc. in Research Methods in Psychology from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland in 1997, and B.Sc.(Hons) in Psychology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in 1996. His research is concerned with human performance in high risk work domains with a focus on human factors and human error. He is currently carrying out a number of research projects with interns and surgeons on improving patient safety and quality of care.

He is an Associate Director of the new Institute for Business, Social Sciences and Public Policy. He provides professional and methodological guidance to PhD students from across the business school and social sciences. He is leading a project to develop an wiki-based database of social science research tools called the Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Sciences (MIDDS; more information is at www.midds.ie). He also is a clinical tutor responsible for delivering human factors education to doctor interns.

Prior to coming to NUIG he was an officer in the U.S. Navy for eight years. He served as a Research Psychologist and Experimental Diver at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU), Instructor in aviation psychology and human factors at the Navy/Marine Corps School of Aviation Safety, and Assistant Professor in the Operations Research Department at the Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California.

He has authored more than 70 publications, including two books (Safety at the Sharp End, and Human Performance Enhancements in High-risk Environments). He is a chartered member of the British Psychological Society and member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. He serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Aviation Psychology and is a reviewer for a number of other human factors and safety journals.