School of Languages, Law and Social Sciences
School Research Strategy 2014-20191
Introduction
The School of Social Sciences and Law developed a research strategy following the
recommendation of the School Review Panel in 2009. This document builds on that
strategy, now taking into account the expansion of the School to become the School
of Languages, Law and Social Sciences.
This Research Strategy 2014-2019 will guide the research and scholarly activity of
the School and its staff until the School Review scheduled for 2019.
Context of this Research Strategy
This research strategy is informed by the changing context for research at Dublin
Institute of Technology, and in particular, the DIT Strategic Plan, and the DIT
Research Action Plan. The School welcomes the Research Action Plan.
This strategy also takes account of broader developments concerning the move to
Grangegorman, the planned merger with IT Blanchardstown and IT Tallaght and
subsequent move to Technological University status. The School notes that these
changes also include aims to increase research activity, the number of postgraduate
research students, and staff with PhDs across Dublin Institute of Technology. For
example, ambitious targets are being set in preparation for the attainment of
Technological University to increase the number of postgraduate students by 40%
during the lifetime of this Plan, as well as ambitions to develop practice-led PhDs
and increase the provision of scholarship funds.
The research strategy also coincides with widening opportunities for research
This strategy was drafted by Dr. Mary Rogan, Dr. Matt Bowden, Dr. Anne Marie
Halpenny, Susanna Nocchi, Dr. Sue Norton, and Dr. Mairéad Seymour. The group is
thankful to all members of staff who provided comments and feedback on the
strategy.
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driven by both Irish and EU Institutions. Research in the humanities and social
sciences are key dimensions in national level and EU wide frameworks for
responding to societal challenges together with innovation, sustainability and
economic recovery. At national level the Irish Research Council offers a range of
funding opportunities to support postgraduate and postdoctoral research and funds
individual researchers under the Research Project Grant Scheme. The new EU
research programme Horizon 2020 provides an additional set of research
opportunities for individual and collaborative research in the European Research
Area under schemes such as the Marie Curie Actions, the European Research Council
investigator-initiated supports, and the Humanities in the European Research Area
(HERA).
Through its actions this research strategy seeks to build capacity of
researchers at various stages and to support the formation of research
collaborations to avail of these wider research opportunities.
While these documents and planned changes emphasise the need and desire for
more research activity, this strategy must also be placed in the context of continuing
high levels of staff teaching contact hours, as well as supervision of undergraduate
and postgraduate dissertations. These commitments have a considerable effect on
the time staff can dedicate to research, but also their energy and capacity for
innovation. The School recognises that a great deal of research activity is
undertaken by staff, despite these, and other, constraints. The School is encouraged
by broader developments emphasising the importance of research at DIT.
The School’s research strengths lie in the domain of Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences as defined by the Research Action Plan, although research activity spans all
domains named in that plan. The School considers that it can make a major
contribution to this domain within the Technological University and across the
sector, nationally and internationally. More specifically, key research areas which
have been focused on to date include investigations of policy and practice in the
area of early childhood education; social care; child development in the context of
childcare and parenting styles; intergenerational learning; the lives of older adults
including in care settings; socio-legal research; crime and the related fields of
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penology, policing and security; linguistics; applied linguistics and sociolinguistics;
and literary, cultural and film studies.
This strategy notes the plans in wider policies of Dublin Institute of Technology,
particularly as it moves to seek Technological University status, that a minimum of
45% of full-time academic staff should hold a doctoral qualification, or terminal
degree appropriate to their profession, with 90% of full-time academic staff to hold
a postgraduate qualification. It also notes that research activity is one criterion by
which progression from Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer grade is measured. The
School commits to supporting staff to meet those requirements, but also to
facilitating all staff in their progression and career development in this regard.
Current research and scholarly activity
The School promotes high quality research in disciplines associated with the School.
The School further embraces practitioner-relevant and practitioner-led research,
noting its central importance to academic programmes offered within the School. It
also values community-based research. The School places emphasis on research
which informs and impacts on policy and practice across the three disciplines and
beyond. The School’s research activity is also closely aligned to its teaching,
informing teaching, and enhancing the student experience.
The School recognises that the research activity of staff is crucial to the fulfillment of
its mission and will create a strong culture of research. To this end, it will execute a
series of actions to underpin the development and production of research. Staff are
engaged in a wide variety of research activity. This research strategy takes the
definition of ‘research activity’ from the Dublin Institute of Technology Research
Action Plan. The School highly values peer-reviewed publications achieved by staff,
but not to the exclusion of other forms of scholarly engagement. The School values
discipline-related public engagement by staff, including serving on public and
voluntary bodies, and is encouraged by the development of community-based
research within it. The School notes that civic engagement is to be considered in the
allocation of timetabling support for research under the Research Action Plan.
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The School recognises the particular scholarly context in which the disciplines of
Law, Social Sciences, and Languages operate. These tend, for example, to involve a
model of single author publication (although not exclusively) in some areas, may be
published in non-English language journals, and often require significant input in
terms of time and resources in order to gather data. Fieldwork in these domains can
take considerable time before a publication can be prepared. Research relies to a
considerable degree on the State and EU sector, although there are signs that
community-based organisations are increasingly willing to partner on research
projects.
The School has a track record of organising seminar series and guest lectures,
including the School’s Socio-Legal Speaker series, Research Seminar series, and the
Inspiring Law Graduates series. These contribute to the culture of research and
scholarly enquiry generally.
The Centre for Social and Educational Research (CSER)
The CSER is a research centre that was established in the School in 1997. It aims to
impact on social and educational policies and practices through the provision of
quality research data. The CSER has a strong track record of competing for
externally funded research projects and offers a support structure for School staff to
prepare research tender documentation, and help in project administration and
research accounts. The School recognises that the CSER is currently reassessing its
research themes in order to align them more closely to the research activity
currently engaged in by the School, and to include the work of Languages.
School objectives for research
The School recognises that without the commitment, innovation and enterprise of
staff, research activity cannot continue to flourish. The School respects the integrity
and professionalism involved in staff efforts to undertake research and scholarly
engagement.
The School seeks to achieve the following objectives through this research strategy:
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1. The School aspires to full implementation of the DIT Research Action Plan
regarding timetabling and flexible support for research active staff.
2. The School commits to increasing the provision of support in order to
encourage the development of all forms of research activity.
3. The School recognises that each staff member has a role in the construction
of knowledge.
4. The School will recognise a wide variety of forms of research activity and will
respect the research activity of each staff member.
5. The School will develop its activity in the area of postgraduate studies.
6. The School will develop a vibrant culture of research to inform all areas of its
activity.
7. The School will promote best ethical practice in its research activity.
8. The School will undertake regular review of the support given to research.
Actions needed to implement this strategy
The School has identified a series of actions in order to achieve the objectives of this
strategy. These shall be kept under review by the School Research Committee.
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