ARK runs three annual public attitudes surveys, which record the opinion of people of all ages living in Northern Ireland. The survey questions focus on the key social issues affecting our lives. We are pleased to announce that the data from the 2018 surveys will be released in June:

• On 14 June, data from the Northern Ireland Life & Times survey will be available. Topics include good relations, migrant workers, palliative care, criminal justice, and much more.
• On 25 June, data from the Young Life & Times (of 16 year olds) and Kids' Life & Times survey (of 10-11 year olds) will be released. Topics include wellbeing, shared education, citizenship, and politics.

On the survey websites, you will find tables of results, datasets, technical notes and questionnaires. We will be holding two events to mark the release of the data, and full details are available below.  

In keeping with our ethos of making research information freely and easily accessible, ARK holds a wide range of different types of events. Where possible, we video these events and make them available online.

We are running two seminars in June to mark the release of our survey data:

• 14 June: The Missing T: Baselining Attitudes Towards Transgender people in Northern Ireland. Siobhan McAlister (SSESW) and Gail Neill (UU) will present new findings on attitudes towards transgender people, using data from the 2018 Northern Ireland Life & Times Survey. This event will be held in the MAC, Belfast, starting at 10.30.
• 25 June: Key findings from the 2018 Young Life & Times (16 year olds) and Kids' Life & Times (10-11 year olds) will be highlighted at an event in Youth Action, Belfast, starting at 10.30.

Find out more  

On 30 May, Gemma Carney (ARK) and (Leonie Hannan, School of History, Anthroplogy, Philosophy and Politics, Queen's University Belfast) will highlight how collaboration between the social sciences, humanities and arts can reveal the experience of old age. They will discuss The Lively Project (a cross-disciplinary exchange developed through research, engagement and teaching), and offers reflections on the importance of seeing current debates in deeper historical and cultural context.

The event will take place on Thursday 30 May, from 11.45am to 2pm, in the Brian Friel Theatre, Queen's University Belfast. The seminar is open to anyone with an interest in these themes, and registration is not required.

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In 2016 and 2017, the Northern Ireland Life & Times survey included a module of questions focusing on respect. Of these, 9 questions make up the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS), which measures the perception of discrimination experienced by individuals in their daily lives. Responses are then collated to create a Respect Index. These questions were also asked in the 2016 Young Life & Times Survey.

The Executive Office has recently published a statistical bulletin focusing on the Respect Index.

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CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) is a vast archive of information and source materials on the Northern Ireland and politics in the region. This archive has been freely available on-line since March 1997, with new materials added on a regular basis. This is a unique academic and civic resource, with users all over the world.

Between 7th February and 2nd May 2019, Ulster University held a 12-week consultation about the future of the CAIN Web Service as a live resource. We wish to thank everyone who responded to the consultation, and to those who showed support on social media and via other means.

The responses were compiled and reviewed before a report was submitted to the senior staff of the university. The ideas and proposals made during the consultation are now being considered. The outcome of this process will be made known in due course.

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ARK is Northern Ireland's social policy hub. 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. Most of our dissemination is via our website at www.ark.ac.uk, which is divided into five main areas:

• Surveys
• Projects
• Resources
• Publications
• Events

Find out more