ESRC Festival of Social Science

The School of Social Sciences has organised a range of events for this year’s ESRC Festival of Social Science, a week-long celebration of social sciences across the UK. 

Visit the pages for individual events for information on venues, times, and booking.

A world of data, 10 November
Analysing numerical data can be a daunting task for many students studying humanities subjects. These hands-on interactive workshops for year 12 and 13 students will help alleviate anxieties about using numbers in the social sciences by showing students how to generate data, as well as how to analyse and visual it in a useful and meaningful way.

Looked after children and education research, 11 November
A launch event presenting the findings from a study exploring the educational experiences and opinions, attainment, achievement and aspirations of looked after children in Wales. The research, commissioned by the Welsh Government, was carried out by the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE). Come to hear about the research and reflect on its policy and practice implications from the project team and project partners. There will also be a chance to view and hear the films, music and artwork generated from the project.

Showcasing WISERD’s Data Portal for Civil Society research, 11 November
The WISERD Data Portal (WDP) is an online data search, discovery and mapping application, designed to show third sector organisations the capabilities of re-using and re-purposing existing data (their own and others) to undertake research and analysis.  This event will demonstrate the WDP and how it can be used by third sector organisations for Civil Society research.

Preventing child sexual abuse, 12 and 13 November
This seminar draws on current research and practice on child sexual abuse prevention. It focuses on the work of Stop it Now! Wales, specifically the delivery of their education and awareness-raising sessions, aimed at engaging communities, publics and society in an informed discourse about child sexual abuse. The event is open to all members of the public and will not include any graphic or explicit materials.

Mental health film screening for young people, 13 November
To engage young people about mental health and wellbeing research, DECIPHer in conjunction with Cardiff sciSCREEN will hold a film screening of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The film is a coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old’s struggle with mental health, the suicide of a best friend, and searching for a peer group.

Post-film discussions will focus on research conducted on: school-based social and emotional wellbeing interventions; young people’s use of the internet for self-harm; mental health service users as researchers; online resources for depression. 

This event is for young people aged 15 and over and who are accompanied by a teacher, youth worker or other DBS checked individual.