Translational Research in Assessment, Cognition and Evaluation (TRACE)

The Translational Research in Assessment, Cognition, and Evaluation (TRACE) Centre at Atlantic Technological University is focused on the robust collection, measurement, and analysis of psychosocial and behavioural data. Our work spans psychology, the broader social sciences, and related disciplines.

Research

TRACE produces and disseminates original research in the social and behavioural sciences. Our work engages with questions of measurement quality, psychometric validity, and applied behavioural data – and we are active collaborators on interdisciplinary projects within ATU and beyond. Details of ongoing projects and published outputs are forthcoming.

Collaboration

A significant part of what we do is working alongside researchers and organisations who are generating (or ready to collect) valuable data but need methodological support to make the most of it. This might mean helping to design a study from the outset, selecting or adapting suitable measures, running psychometric checks on existing instruments, or supporting analysis and write-up. We work with colleagues across ATU on projects that might otherwise stall at the design or analysis stage, and we take on external partnerships that align with our expertise and where the work is a good fit.

If you are collecting behavioural or self-report data and are unsure whether your methods are appropriate, or if you have a research question but are not sure how to approach it rigorously, please get in touch.

External partnerships

We work with organisations outside the university – public sector, industry, and third sector – on a consultancy basis. Our typical engagements include survey and study design, scale selection and validation, data quality review, and analysis and reporting. Fees from these partnerships directly support the centre’s research capacity.