Discover sources of quantitative data
Societies are now awash with data on every aspect of people's lives and social scientists need to become specialists in making sense of this data. There is a range of data available to social scientists to research and analyse.
Find out what people in NI think
ARK, a joint collaboration between Queen's University Belfast and University of Ulster, is one of the most important sources of freely available data on attitudes in Northern Ireland. ARK runs a range of surveys, for example, the Kids Life and Times (survey of Primary 7 schoolchildren), the Young Life and Times (survey of 16 year olds) as well as the Northern Ireland Life and Times (adults aged 18 plus).
The survey results are published in regular research reports, usually aimed at a non-expert audience. Some of the findings have also been presented as seminars and recorded. Check the ARK Research Updates page for more details.
You can also explore the survey results on the ARK website. Below are some ideas to get you started!
- What do P7 children think about ageing?
- Find out what 16 year olds think about sex and see if there are differences in attitudes between boys and girls
- Hate crime is often reported in the media - explore attitudes to ethnic minorities
Explore other important sources of data
- Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency: check if recorded crime has fallen in your area using this online interactive tool.
- Office for National Statistics (UK): investigate changing family size here
- UK Data Service: find out about the latest data deposited in the data archive
- Central Statistics Office (Ireland): check out Students Corner
- Eurostat - find out about quality of life across Europe: use the data visualisation tool to find out how your country compares
- United Nations Statistical Division: see which countries are meeting the Millennium Development Goals
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Statistics: compare your income using this tool