She has conducted research addressing a range of social phenomenon including citizenship and political participation; leadership and collective empowerment; and the experience and consequences of prejudice, misrecognition and social exclusion. Dr Blackwood has completed a Scottish Institute of Policing Research project examining minority group experiences of interacting with police and other authorities. She currently holds a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship to conduct research on community engagement in the political process and how this is shaped by government practices.