Claire McCartan
Biography
I have a degree in Politics from the University of Leeds.
I joined ICCR in 2003 as a part-time Research Assistant, and have been working on the Belfast Youth Development Study since 2006. BYDS is a longitudinal study examining the lives of young people in Northern Ireland with a particular interest in pathways to and the onset of risky health behaviours associated with alcohol and drug use. Having been involved with BYDS for so long, I feel very connected to the young people who have been contributing to our study over the last ten or so years, and highly value what we can learn from their experiences to help improve other young people’s lives. I was also co-investigator on a qualitative study involving some of BYDS cohort; Teenage Drinking Cultures (funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation) examined how groups of friends started drinking and how they developed their drinking behaviour in late adolescence.
Prior to joining BYDS, I was Research Assistant on ‘Out of the Box – Alternative Education in Northern Ireland’. I was responsible for recruiting, training and supporting a team of young peer researchers conducting longitudinal research in alternative education pathways at Key Stage 4. This role drew on life before Queen’s, where I worked with young people in careers' education. I have since worked with Dr Dirk Schubotz on a number of peer researcher projects within the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work.
As a Cochrane Fellow, I am currently working on a systematic review on ‘Centre-based early education interventions for improving school readiness’.
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
McCartan, C., Schubotz, D. & Murphy, J. (2012). The self-conscious researchers – post-modern perspectives of participatory research with young people. Forum: Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 13(1).
McAloney, K., McCrystal, P., Percy, A., McCartan, C. (2009). Damaged Youth: Prevalence of community violence exposure and implications for adolescent well-being in post-conflict Northern Ireland. Journal of Community Psychology, 37(5): 635-648.
Kilpatrick, R., McCartan, C., McAlister, S. & McKeown, P. (2007). “If I’m brutally honest, research has never appealed to me...”: The problems and successes of a peer research project. Educational Action Research, 15(3): 351-369.
Book chapters
McCartan, C., Burns, S. & Schubotz, D. (2012). Recruitment and capacity-building challenges in participatory research involving young people in Northern Ireland in Goodson, L & Philimore, J. (Eds.) Community Research for Participation: From theory to method. Bristol: Policy Press.
Reports
Higgins, K., McCann, M., McLaughlin, A., McCartan, C. & Perra, O. (2013). Investigating parental monitoring, school and family influences on adolescent alcohol use. Institute of Child Care Research, Queen’s University Belfast. End of project report for Alcohol Research UK.
Seifert, A., McCartan, C., McLaughlin, A. & McCann, M. (2011). Investigating community gardening as a form of rehabilitation for people with alcohol misuse problems in Northern Ireland: Findings from a pilot study. Institute of Child Care Research, Queen’s University Belfast: Report to Alcohol Research UK.
Higgins, K., Perra, O., McCann, M., McCartan, C & McLaughlin, A. (2011). Alcohol and the affluence paradox: A secondary analysis exploring the health disparities surrounding adolescent alcohol use and alcohol related harm in adulthood. Institute of Child Care Research, Queen’s University Belfast: Report to the Alcohol Education Research Council.
Percy, A., Wilson, J., McCartan, C. & McCrystal, P. (2011). Teenage Drinking Cultures. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Kilpatrick, R., McCartan, C., McKeown, P. & Gallagher, A. (2007). Out of the Box: Alternative Education Provision in Northern Ireland, Research Report No. 45. Bangor: DENI.
Conference paper
McCartan, C.; Percy, A. & Wilson, J. (2010). Teenage Drinking Cultures. Paper presented at British Sociological Association Youth 2010, University of Surrey.
