In each of our newsletters throughout this year, we will highlight previous research or events that ARK has carried out since 2000, in order to mark our 20th anniversary.

In 2002, a Research Update by Ann Marie Gray and Dorothy Whittington explored public attitudes to health information, based on data from the 2001 Northern Ireland Life and Times survey. At that time, the main source of health information was a doctor or health professional, with a small minority saying that they could look up information on the internet.

Since 2001, there have been huge changes in how we use technology, and an increase in the number of online resources. Thus, it is very likely that the results would be very different if we asked that question now. With the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across the world, accessing relevant and accurate health information is a current concern.

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The first event of our 20th anniversary celebrations took place on 19th February.

The keynote speakers were Professor John Curtice (University of Strathclyde) and Dr Katy Hayward (Queen's University Belfast), who discussed if the UK was better or worse off after 20 years of devolution.


We were delighted that YouthAction's Rainbow Factory were able to participate with a wonderful performance piece. The event was chaired by Emma Vardy (BBC Ireland correspondent).

This was a great way to start our series of celebratory events. Look out soon on our website or social media for details of our next event.  

CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) includes an extensive bibliography of over 22,200 references to materials relevant to the Northern Ireland conflict. The bibliography mainly covers the period 1968 to the present but also includes key texts from before 'the Troubles'. The bibliography is searchable by title, keyword, author or year.

The UK left the European Union on 31 January, and so Brexit is a key issue affecting Northern Ireland. A search of the bibliography using the keyword 'Brexit' shows that there are currently 91 items that focus on this issue.

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The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) undertakes methodological research and training in the social sciences. ARK facilitates many of these courses in Northern Ireland. These courses are suitable for postgraduate students and researchers.

The two-day course Understanding small areas: spatial analysis of population and neighbourhood data will take place in Queen's University on 1-2 April 2020. Full details and booking information are available on the NCRM website.

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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

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