Social Sciences and Linguistics research

Through collaborative research projects the Social Sciences and Linguistics group draws upon multiple disciplines in order to open new horizons in research.

Research centres, networks and groups

Alternative Futures and Regional Prospects Research Network

Alternative Futures and Regional Prospects Research Network is a world-first collaboration that studies and promotes alternative modes of development beyond Carbon, Capital, and (extracted) Commodities with a focus on the prospects of urban development in Australian regional areas, particularly Hunter Region. The team is uniquely comprised of experts from a broad range of disciplines who strongly share a common interest in contributing scholarly research to support the creation of a sustainable, inclusive future.

Endangered Languages Documentation, Theory and Application (ELDTA)

Linguistics research strengths include a number of important projects. Our Endangered Languages Documentation, Theory and Application (ELDTA) Research Program, focuses on documenting, describing, and investigating indigenous languages of Australia and the Pacific region. Secondly, we specialise in applied linguistics with particular emphasis upon second language acquisition and bilingualism. Our history of success in achieving competitive national and international grants enables us to offer PhD scholarships in endangered languages research. PhD and Masters by Research students benefit from working with researchers who have extensive expertise in all aspects of endangered language research. This includes: documentation; fieldwork and recording techniques; linguistic annotation tools; digital archiving; linguistic analysis and grammar writing; investigation of aspects of issues of wider scientific and socio-cultural significance in the endangered languages of our region.

Lab for Applied Language Science

The University’s Lab for Applied Language Science (LALS) is open for anybody who is interested in language development and language use. We aim to offer opportunities for novel interdisciplinary collaborations among linguists, language teachers, psychologists, speech pathologists, educational tool developers, engineers, etc. and to provide trainings for researchers and students who wish to develop skills in experimental approaches to language science.

Newcastle Youth Studies Research Group

Newcastle Youth Studies Group examines inequalities that affect young people's lives across national and international contexts. It has a particular focus on Australia, South-East Asia and the Pacific. It has demonstrated research methodological expertise in an array of quantitative and qualitative methods including: large surveys, interviews, focus groups, visual methods, ethnography, figurative methodology and discourse analysis.

Society, Health and Disability Research Group

Society, Health and Disability Research Group brings new and established approaches from the Humanities and Social Sciences to the study of health and disability. The team has expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods, including ethnography, archival methods, action-research and social-media based digital methods.

Centre for Social Research and Regional Futures

Working in metropolitan, regional and rural environments, the Centre for Social Research and Regional Futures is focused on the development of research projects that examine the roles that policy, people and organisations play in bringing about change and development in regional economies and communities, primary industries, energy and resource management, land use planning and natural environments. The Centre is committed to the development of research projects that aspire to a more sustainable future, including those that contribute to the development of resilient and diverse economies, industries and communities.

The Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education

The university is proud of its reputation for being an institution not only of excellence but also one that embraces equity. Through The Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE), the university is committed to developing an agenda that brings equity practice and research together (praxis), and in doing so, provides a robust suite of multidisciplinary research and practice to offer leadership in equity both nationally and internationally.

The Centre for Health Professional Education

The Centre for Health Professional Education is committed to engaging in a systematic and rigorous program of research that will examine the effectiveness of curricula interventions as well as the impact of health professional education on patient outcomes.

Other networks

We also network with resource organisations and associations that help us promote our research agendas and achieve greater level of engagement with communities and industries, local and global.