Research Themes
The School has an international reputation for research in its major areas of activity, including:
Crime, Security and Justice
Researchers in the Crime, Security and Justice Theme have a significant international reputation for the application of innovative and rigorous research designs to substantive ‘real world’ problems. Their research has advanced theory and knowledge across key areas of sociological interest, including: policing and social control; the governance of community safety and security; and offending and identities.
Culture, Transformation and Subjectivity
The Culture, Transformation and Subjectivity research theme is a thriving centre for interdisciplinary research which brings together several groupings from the fields of anthropology, psychology, sociology, education, social philosophy, cultural studies, science and technology studies, feminism and political theory. Working on topics such as employment and labour, medicine and science studies, art, craft and performance, new social movements and local communities, sexuality and childhood, education, arts and cultural industries, migration and mobility, we investigate the creation of identities and subjectivities within their cultural and material settings and address their political and social implications.
Health, Wellbeing and Social Care
With its focus on public health, health care and social work, and in addition to outstanding scholarship, a distinctive feature of the research in this theme is its emphasis on knowledge translation and impact. It has benefited from the establishment of the Cardiff Institute of Society and Health (CISHE), home to a further three research centres: the Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), the Public Health Improvement Research Network (PHIRN) and the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit (WHIASU). All these are led by CISHE in partnership with other Schools within Cardiff University, other universities in Wales and the UK and public sector organisations. Social work research in the school is focused on child and family welfare, with a strong history of research income and publishing in the fields of looked after children and child protection, including early intervention, family support, assessment and father involvement. There is a cross-cutting interest in children and young people and in developing theoretically informed interventions to improve health and well being.
Method and Methodology
The School of Social Sciences has been a centre of excellence for methods and methodology both qualitative and quantitative for forty years. Staff have been at the frontiers of developing social research methods, applying them in innovative ways, and theorising about them. Funded research on methods and methodology has been a characteristic of the School throughout that forty year period.
Knowledge, Science and Technology
This Theme is an established area of international excellence at Cardiff. Its work during the current review period has benefited from the establishment in 2003 of the ESRC-funded Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen). Research within the Theme has a complex set of interfaces with medicine and clinical practice and has received strong support from the ESRC, the Wellcome Trust and the Health Care Trust.
Work, Education and Globalisation
The School of Social Sciences is a leading international centre for research on education and the future of work. A major strength of our research is its outstanding scholarship across established boundaries between social science subjects including sociology, education, social policy, politics, industrial relations, management studies and economics. As experts in this field we are engaged in leading-edge research, contributing new theoretical insights and setting public agendas that challenge much of the accepted wisdom about education, skills and the knowledge economy; globalisation, work and the labour market; and the future of capitalism, political economy and social movements.