School of Social Sciences

The Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD)

WISERD is jointly funded from the Welsh Assembly Government (HEFCW) and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to draw together and build upon the existing expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and methodologies at Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth, Bangor and Glamorgan Universities. WISERD will embark on an ambitious data integration, primary research and capacity building programme in Wales.

WISERD is coordinated from an administrative centre at Cardiff University. The research activity and programme of capacity building of WISERD is distributed across the partner HE institutions and also involves the Welsh Assembly Government, ONS and other public organisations. WISERD is an interdisciplinary social science research centre. Contributing disciplines include sociology, geography, social and public policy, law, economics, politics, education and social work.

Aims of WISERD

To build upon and develop existing expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and methodologies
To develop and integrate a coherent set of research data relating to Wales
To build networks of researchers and research capacity across Wales in the economic and social sciences, as well as contributing to UK wide research capacity building
To explore the relationships between research data, research methods and the development and understanding of policy.
To develop a sustainable increase in the quantitative research base across the social sciences in Wales through academic appointments and training.
To increase collaborative interdisciplinary research grant applications and interaction with policy makers and the private sector through consultancy.

The WISERD team in Bangor includes: