Research Impact
In the Social Sciences Division, our research addresses questions that are crucial for our collective future. How can we finance the renewable energy transition? Why and how do racial and gender differences appear in health, economic, and educational outcomes? How can we feed our global population more sustainably?
Making sense of complex topics like these requires an innovative and thoughtful approach. Our researchers bridge academic disciplines in creative, high-impact new ways. We approach our work with both curiosity and caring. And we strive to center equity in all that we do.
Combining methods for deeper insight
One unique aspect of our work is that we are experts in both quantitative and qualitative research. This means we focus on the collection of numerical data to uncover large-scale trends, as well as on investigation methods that capture the detailed human stories behind those trends. This combination allows us to provide a more three-dimensional view of the topics we study.
We also apply a wide range of research methods. On any given day, you might find us conducting surveys and interviews with people in the community, combing through IRS data, searching historical archives, digging up artifacts, or conducting experiments in the forest. Having all of these strategies in our toolbelt allows us to tailor our methods to the research question at hand.
Modeling ethical research practices
The Social Sciences Division at UC Santa Cruz is a national leader in community-engaged research. This means we invest in relationship building and model ways to be guided by, partnered with, and accountable to the communities that our work touches at every step in the process of knowledge co-creation and mobilization.
Community-engaged scholarship is a form of partnership where universities and community organizations co-develop efforts to answer questions that matter to the community and address local needs. This type of research ultimately aims to deliver products that are useful for communities and to improve the process of scholarship itself, through community input.
Delivering effective solutions
Much of our research across the division is developed specifically with the goal of creating public impact. We don’t just want to make a splash within academia. We want to be able to apply what we learn in order to solve real-world problems.
Our research equips policymakers, advocates, communities, and industries in our state and around the world with new insights and tools to increase their effectiveness in bringing about positive social and environmental change. Our experts also work with journalists to advance public understanding of high-impact research and share timely insights and perspectives to support more accurate and nuanced public discourse.
Research news
(feed from campus newscenter)