Research
Research in SSESW combines five core disciplinary areas, in Criminology, Education, Social Policy, Social Work and Sociology, We see our work as being key to bringing about positive social change. Along with our strengths in these core disciplinary areas, we are committed to trans-disciplinary work that can address local and global challenges, bringing together professionals, researchers, and service users to bring about innovation in research agendas and methodologies.
In the last Research Excellence Framework assessment, our research was judged in the top quartile of UK research, and our impact work was judged to be world leading. Our research has influenced policy and practice locally, nationally and globally in many areas including education, criminal justice, the wellbeing of children, social cohesion and mental health. Research in the school is organised within a number of Research Centres and Networks: Centre for Children's Rights; Centre for Shared Education; Disability Research Network; Centre for Behaviour Analysis; Centre for Language Education Research; Centre for Inclusion, Transformation and Equality (CITE); Centre for Technological Innovation, Mental Health and Education; Centre for Child, Youth and Family Welfare; Centre for Justice Studies; Drugs and Alcohol Research Network; MethodsLab and the ARK Northern Ireland Social Policy Hub. Members from the School also locate their research within the Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and Queen's Communities and Place (QCAP).
Our research serves local and global communities, and our ambition is that it aids social transformation to improve lives and outcomes of people.
Karen Winter
in the UK for Research Intensity for Education
Research Excellence Framework (2014)in the UK for Research Intensity for Social Policy and Social Work
Research Excellence Framework (2014)in the UK for Research Quality for Social Policy
Complete University Guide 2025
ARK is Northern Ireland’s social policy hub. The hub was established in 2000 by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University, its primary goal is to increase the accessibility and use of academic data and research.
DARN is a hub for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners engaged in research on drugs and alcohol. The network acts a an inter-disciplinary forum where findings from areas as diverse as social work, public health, education, economics, sociology, psychology, law and pharmacy can be shared.
QUB is driving forward public policy debates in relation police stop and search powers. By examining the history, context and scale of this police practice, such research enhances a deeper understanding of how stop and search is used Northern Ireland’s post-conflict setting. Particularly regarding children and young people, the research is providing new empirical data with national and international significance.
Dr Liam O’Hare leads a collaboration between a team of researchers at QUB and teachers in the Hallam Teaching School Alliance. The team have developed a programme called SMART Spaces for use during GSCE science revision classes, currently being trialled across England in 160 disadvantaged schools with over 14,000 pupils participating.
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Research Centres and Institutes
Our mechanisms for research delivery include a number of interdisciplinary Research Centres, Research Networks and Institutes
- Our Impact
87% of research in Education and 76% of research in Social Work and Social Policy was assessed in REF 2014 as either 'Internationally Excellent or World-Leading', with Education ranked 4th in the UK for Research Intensity and Social Work and Social Policy ranked 11th.
- Collaborations and Current Projects
Our academics work collaboratively with an array of international partner organisations to be at the forefront of innovative social research.
- Environment and Support
We provide the flexibility for talent to flourish, underpinned by our Graduate School and the Queen’s University Fellowship Scheme.
- Postgraduate Research
Are you interested in doctoral study in the school of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work? Search for PhD supervisors.
Latest Publications
Counter-narratives of Authority in Transition: Marginality in the Indian Academy
- Dina Belluigi
- Nandita Dhawan
- Asha Achuthan
- Ulrike M Vieten
Gaza: an indictment of critical philosophy
12 May 2025Exploring the meaning and experience of family for youth leaving care: a scoping review
- Mandi MacDonald
- Inger Oterholm
- Berni Kelly
- Ingrid Hojer
- Ingri Hanne Brænne Bennwik
Investigating the self-disclosure of personal information on snapchat stories
7 May 2025An examination of support for more diverse alcohol warning labels (AWLs) in Ireland
- Frank Houghton
- Jennifer Moran Stritch
- Gillian Shorter
- Anne Campbell