Research

The Inquiry has a dedicated research function, set up to generate new insight into child sexual abuse.

What we do

• Bring together in one place what is already known about child sexual abuse and find out the knowledge gaps

• Support the Inquiry to ask the right questions of the institutions it is investigating

• Generate new knowledge about child sexual abuse

• Analyse the information the Inquiry receives through the Truth Project

• Help to ensure the best use of high quality data across the Inquiry

How we undertake research

The research team carries out a range of activities in order to provide high quality research that supports the work of the Inquiry. This includes secondary research where we pull together existing research on a particular topic, as well as qualitative and quantitative primary research where we collect our own data, for example, by conducting interviews or surveys. Another important part of the research team’s work is analysing the information we gather as part of the Truth Project.

Who we are

The research team is comprised of social researchers and statisticians who have previously worked across a wide variety of organisations, including government departments, market research organisations, academia and third sector organisations.

Ethics

The Inquiry’s Research Codes of Ethics sets out the ethical standards required and the processes to be followed when undertaking research on behalf of or within the Inquiry.

The Inquiry’s Research Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring that all research undertaken for or by the Inquiry complies with the ethical standards set out in the Inquiry’s Research Code of Ethics. The committee is formed of external academics and experts in addition to relevant internal staff. 

All research projects are approved by the Inquiry’s Research Ethics Committee prior to commencement.