Research

Research in ILAS embraces an interdisciplinary commitment to address critical gaps in scientific evidence. Tackling scholarly questions, and key challenges in policy and practice, we actively contribute to international knowledge on life-course related topics for individuals and groups who can encounter exclusion.

ILAS embodies a diverse set of methodological expertise, harnessing qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method and applied skill sets from across its constituent partners. Examples of specific methods include life-course narrative techniques, econometric and multi-level modelling of longitudinal data, discourse and document analysis, mixed-method evaluation studies, and behavioural and observational analysis.

In addition, many of our projects prioritise the voices of marginalised people and communities, identifying new ways of including these individuals as co-producers of knowledge. An essential part of such projects is also to explore the ethical and methodological issues concerning such approaches. 

Together, these methodological approaches us to address research questions with a unique comprehensiveness. They also provide the Institute with the means to generate crucial and applicable insights.