Research
Research centres, groups and current researcher projects
Discover the work of our researchers.
/prod01/yorksjacuk/media/content-assets/safe-images/1600-x-1000/Community-Music-63.jpg)
Our community of researchers work across multiple disciplines to deliver impactful research.
Find out about the work of research centres and groups at York St John University on this page.
For guidance on setting up a research group and what is expected once your group is established, visit our Research group guidance page (staff intranet).
For information about our social justice research visit the Institute for Social Justice pages. For health and care improvement research visit the Institute for Health and Care Improvement pages.
Research centres

Centre for Applied Innovation
The Centre for Applied Innovation fosters innovation and driving advancements through collaboration and cutting-edge research.

Centre for Language and Social Justice Research
The Centre explores why social inequality and injustices are largely enacted through language.

Centre for Religion in Society
A forum to look at the role of religion in the cultural, social and political life of society as well as its role in conflict resolution, peace-building and reconciliation.

International centre for community music
A global forum through which community music research, teaching, scholarship, professional practice and pedagogy can be nurtured and developed.

Prison Partnership Project
A partnership between York St John University, HMP New Hall and HMP Askham Grange to provide weekly creative arts programmes in prisons.

York Centre for Writing
A hub for a number of exciting writing events, projects and publications in collaboration with Valley Press, York Literature Festival, and other community partners.

York St John Communities Centre
The Centre is conducting research into anger management, bereavement counselling and more.
Our research groups
Advanced Healthcare Practice
Research studying topics related to Advanced Practice (AP) in Allied Health Professional and nursing clinical practice.
Body image, body movement and eating behaviour research (BEAM)
Research on body image, physical activity and movement, and eating behaviour.
Child development
Research into basic and applied developmental psychology using quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Cognitive psychology
Research into cognitive processes underpinning language and literacy, future thinking, virtual reality, and tool innovation.
Contemporary history and politics
Research into the intersection between politics and history.
Converge Evaluation and Research Team
Research which uses lived experience of mental health challenges to inform practice in research and evaluation.
Counselling and therapy
Research into mental health practices and counsellor practice, identity, social justice and criticality themes.
Creativity and embodiment
Research to to bridge methodologies associated with physical and spiritual well-being with more traditional academic approaches.
Criminal justice
Research into the criminal justice system, bringing together researchers from across the University.
Cybersecurity
Research into the nature and character of cyber threats and formulate appropriate ways of addressing them.
Disease detection and prevention
Research to undertake targeted and applied biomedical science research, focusing on diverse ways to improve human health.
Dynamic landscapes
Research to explore the detection and interpretation of physical and chemical processes at the Earth’s surface.
Ecological justice
Research to find solutions to social justice and environmental issues.
Future Thinking
The Future Thinking research group combines expertise, knowledge, and research related to prospective cognition in a number of contexts.
Futures and Foresight
Research to explore how anticipation of the future impacts decision making processes.
Global and public health
Research in collaboration with national and international partners, contributing to significant advancements in public health knowledge and practice.
Hauntology and spectrality
Research to explore hauntology, nostalgia, uncanny fiction, horror and twentieth century histories.
Health, wellbeing and participation
Research to explore the links between health, wellbeing, and participation and interventions and assessments to enhance people's health, well being and participation.
Higher education
Research to explore theory, practice and participation in higher education.
Inclusion, society and education
Research to explore inclusive education, disability and sport, autism and autism experiences and more.
Initial Teacher Education curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
Research to explore the dual experiences of student teachers as both learners and future planners and facilitators of learning.
Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Organisations
Research to explore the transformative role of innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), and emerging technologies in modern organisations.
Investigate.Games
Research to investigate interactive games in the context of their history, production and socio-cultural value.
Interdisciplinary sports performance and injury
Research into injury and performance in athletes, particularly young and female.
Interdisciplinary Witches group
Research into the different facets of the trope of 'the witch'.
Languages and linguistics
Research into linguistics and languages-related research and its researchers.
Leadership Pioneers Network Centre
Research into the various aspects of leadership, including its dynamics, impact, and effective strategies.
MetaLearn AI Innovators
Research exploring innovative ideas and experimentation, immersing itself in the forefront of MetaML (Meta Machine Learning) advancements.
Motivation, performance and wellbeing
Research into the influence of perfectionism in sport, dance and exercise.
Music, Memory and Narrative
Research into the contemporary cultural phenomenon of the music memoir.
Neurodiversity, Environment and Wellbeing (ReNEW)
A cross-disciplinary group exploring how to build more enabling psychological environments in a number of contexts.
Paragon research and innovation
A multi-disciplinary group of researchers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and related fields.
Parenthood and creativity
Research into the creative impulse and experiences of early parenthood, maternity and paternity.
Participatory enquiry
Research into participatory enquiry, action research and democratic methodologies.
People in employment settings
Research to foster and promote investigation into people and the workplace.
Perceptions of Employability
Research group to explore perceptions of employability from a range of perspectives.
Physical activity and cardiovascular health
Research to examine how physical activity can promote and maintain cardiovascular health.
Rehabilitation and health promotion
Research group to conduct high quality research in the areas of rehabilitation and health promotion.
Responsible marketing
Research group to explore an understanding of consumers, marketing purposes, branding, and social media contexts.
Screen research
Research group to provides a space for all kinds of screen-related research, including both theory and practice, to develop.
Study of satire
Research to historicise, problematise, theorise, teach and perform satire and satirical material.
Tackling welfare in sport together
Research to explore a broad range of welfare-related issues within sport.
Teacher selection, formation and development
Research into interview processes, the development of identity from student to teacher, and communities of practice in early career teaching.
Violence, harm and trauma
Research into the ways in which we explain, rationalise, and represent horrific acts.
Virtual and augmented reality
Research to propose new avenues for exploration and application in this emerging field.
Visitor economy and experience
Research to provide insights into the tourism experience, tourism education and mindful strategies.
War Studies
Research group to discuss research in the area of war studies, including organised conflict, operational research, operational military history and more.
Accounting, Economics and Finance
Accounting, Finance, and Economics Research Group (AFER) is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research in accounting, finance, and economics.
Current research projects
Protected landscapes and National Parks
Research projects from York Business School to explore protected landscapes and National Parks across the UK and at an international level.
Women of York
A humanities and tourism project which aims to raise awareness of the crucial role women have played in York's development.