In This Section
Planning Projects
We have a vibrant, active and diverse research community generating impactful world class research. Our researchers are involved in a number of strategic partnerships and collaborations within the University and beyond; working with funders and partners including research councils, government departments, the EU, Council of Europe and large foundations.
Below are a few examples of our research into the important issues facing society today
Cochrane Fellowship
Psychological therapies for major depressive disorder and prolonged grief in bereaved adults
This Cochrane Fellowship started in November 2018 to complete a systematic review of psychological interventions for depression, prolonged grief disorder and PTSD in bereaved adults. The cause of death has been broadened to any type of death vs life limiting conditions, and is now exploring prolonged grief disorder and PTSD.
Dr Audrey Roulston is leading the team where the final review contains 13 different studies covering a range of psychological therapies, with the main intervention focusing on CBT. The project is due for submission to Cochrane in December 2019, and will inform therapists and service providers about which interventions are most effective with this population, and which RCTs were graded highly in terms of quality.
Project Team
Dr Audrey Roulston - Project lead (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Co-Investigators and Contributions
Professor Mike Clarke (Centre for Public Health, QUB)
Professor Michael Donnelly (Centre for Public Health, QUB)
Dr Bridget Candy (UCL/Marie Curie)
Dr Jenny McGaughey (School of Nursing and Midwifery, QUB)
Orla Keegan (Irish Hospice Foundation, Dublin)
Dr Michael Duffy (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
MRC Proximity
Virtual reality and immersive technology to support health and social care professional training
This project was funded, in 2018, by a MRC Proximity to discovery award and involved the development of a new Immersive Technologies and Digital Mental Health network at QUB which is led by Dr Paul Best from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work.
This network is trans-disciplinary partnership of academics, practitioners and technology companies focusing on therapeutic and pedagogical advances in mental health and social care through digital means. A particular focus of this work is to increase the accessibility and capacity of immersive technologies among social science researchers, educators and practitioners.
Project Team
Dr Paul Best - Project lead (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Co-Investigators and Contributors
Dr Matilde Meireles (QUB)
Dr Franziska Schroeder (School of Arts, English and Languages, QUB)
Dr Maarten Van Walstijn (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, QUB)
Dr Lorna Montgomery (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Dr Alan Maddock (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Dr Anne Campbell (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Prof Gavin Davidson (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Mr David Trainor (SentiReal Ltd)
Dr Karen Galway (School of Nursing and Midwifery, QUB)
Mr Paul Quinn (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
NSPCC*
Speak Out, Stay Safe Evaluation
This project is a national evaluation of the NSPCC’s Speak Out, Stay Safe programme for primary school children across the UK. Speak Out, Stay Safe is a preventive intervention that aims to improve children’s understanding of abuse and other forms of harm, recognise the signs of abuse, how to get help, and the sources of help available to them.
The evaluation is being carried out by a team of researchers based at several Universities across the United Kingdom, led by the University of Central Lancashire (England) and involving Queens University Belfast (Northern Ireland), Edinburgh University (Scotland), Bangor University (Wales) and the University of Greenwich (England).]
The evaluation has three elements: Impact evaluation, Process evaluation and Economic evaluation.
Impact evaluation (started Jan 2019): Exploring how children’s knowledge, understanding and recognition of abuse, neglect and bullying changes after they have taken part in the Speak Out, Stay Safe assemblies and workshops. This also investigates whether the programme improves children’s knowledge of who they can speak out and if it increases children's readiness to seek help if they or their friends experience abuse and neglect. Approx. 4,000 children will be involved in this evaluation from across 90 UK primary schools.
Process evaluation This is running alongside the impact evaluation to explore how Speak Out, Stay Safe works and to understand what helps and hinders successful delivery. Interviews and focus groups are being carried out with pupils and school staff to discover their thoughts on the programme.
Economic evaluation This is assessing the full range of wider costs and outcomes associated with Speak Out, Stay Safe from a societal perspective. It is also exploring how cost-efficient the programme is.
Further information about the Speak Out, Stay Safe programme and the national evaluation can be found at: NSPCC: Speak Out, Stay Safe
QUB Project Team
Dr David Hayes - Project lead (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Co-investigators and contributors
Dr Berni Kelly (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Dr Annemarie Millar (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
*NSPCC, University Belfast (Northern Ireland), Edinburgh University (Scotland), Bangor University (Wales) and the University of Greenwich (England)
ARK
Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT)
NILT is an annual attitudes survey of adults aged 18 years or older living across in Northern Ireland. NILT started in 1998 and has its roots in the Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Survey, which ran from 1989 to 1996. Each year the survey contains questions on a range of important social policy topics affecting people's lives.
The survey is used to monitor key government policies, as well as local government community plans.
Funding for NILT comes from different sources, including academic funders, government and civil society organisations.
More information about NILT, publications arising from NILT, the survey questions asked, tables of results and the dataset can be accessed via the NILT website
Project Team
Dr Dirk Schubotz - Project lead (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Co-investigators and Contributors
Dr Martina McKnight (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Dr Katrina Lloyd (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Mike McCool ARK IT Director, Ulster University
University of Zagreb*
Shared Education Network
In 2018 Professor Joanne Hughes, Director of the Centre for Shared Education and colleagues from the School of Psychology at Queen’s were awarded AHRC GCRF Network funding to build an international network of academics and other stakeholders to explore the potential for initiating and developing shared education in Balkan countries, and devise an interdisciplinary comparative research project.
The project established an academic network comprised of PhD students (QUB and Kosovo); post-doctoral contract research staff (QUB) alongside early careers and leading in-country academics, including 5 professors (BiH, N. Macedonia, Croatia and QUB) and 6 lecturers/SLs (BiH, QUB and N. Macedonia).
Extending out from this core academic team, a strategic network of key educational stakeholders from the political, policy, and practice sectors in each of the five jurisdictions have participated and since 2017 a series of 7 within and between country knowledge exchange events (seminars, workshops, shared education site and in-country school visits) have been organized by the academic team leads, working together with network partners.
Project Team
Prof Joanne Hughes - Project lead (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Co-investigators and Contributors
Professor Rhiannon Turner, (School of Psychology, QUB)
Dr Dani Blaylock, (School of Psychology, QUB)
Professor Dinka Corkalo Biruski, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Edona Maloku, RIT, Kosovo
Professor Violeta Petroska-Beshka, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje/Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Skopje
Dr Sabina Cehajic-Clancy, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Bosnia and Herzegovina
*University of Zagreb, RIT, Kosovo, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje/Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology
Mitchell Institute, Liverpool University
Developing the Principles of Loyalist Transition
In 2016, Professor John Brewer was awarded funding from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to develop a curriculum and workshop manual to assist Mr William Mitchell from ACT (Assisted Conflict Transformation) and various ACT branches to use with Loyalist community groups to engage with the strengths and weaknesses of Loyalism and improve Loyalist engagement with the peace process.
Project Team
Prof John Brewer - Project lead (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work and Senator George J Mitchell Institute, QUB)
Co-investigators and contributors
Professor Pete Shirlow, Liverpool University
Dr Cathal McManus (School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
American Institute for Research
Whole Child Development Mapping across Western Europe and North America: The UK
In 2017 the American Institute for Research commissioned this research project, the report presents findings from the Whole Child Development project on organisations and schools undertaking whole child development in Western Europe and North America.
This report presents findings from the UK and will form part of larger report which is still in progress, this larger report will be based on the findings Western Europe and North America.
Find out more about the findings from the UK
Project team
Dr Alison MacKenzie - Project lead (The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Co-investigators and contributors
Prof Allen Thurston (The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)#
Dr Joanne O'Keeffe (The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Zhengzhou University, Fischer Family Literacy Trust
An efficacy randomized controlled trial of Reciprocal Reading in secondary schools
This project is a development/efficacy RCT of the 'Reciprocal Reading' programme in secondary schools commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
The project is a workforce development program that supports Teachers and Teaching Assistants develop and deliver targeted reading comprehension instruction to high school students aged 11–13. The aim of the project is to improve overall literacy, reading accuracy and reading performance.
Related article can be found here
Project Team
Prof Allen Thurston - Project Lead (The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Co-investigators and Contributors
Maria Cockerill (The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Dr Joanne O’Keeffe (The School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB)
Tien-Hui Chiang, Zhengzhou University, China
Andy Taylor, Fischer Family Literacy Trust.
Outside the University, our partners include:
- UNICEF
- United Nations
- UNESCO
- Stellenbosch University
- University of Cardiff
- Ulster University
- University of Warwick
- Zhengzhou University
- South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
- Police Service Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Executive