The WISDOM Research Network partners with mental health researchers across different areas and shares information about these activities with member schools, giving them the opportunity to get involved.

While participation in research is not mandatory, it is an opportunity for schools and students to make their voices heard and share their lived experience with researchers, supplementing their academic understanding of a topic with lived experience. We highly encourage member schools to take part in research opportunities.

Students have found participating in research to be rewarding and interesting, offering them the opportunity to be heard and impact research outcomes.

Research studies

Member schools will have the opportunity to take part in a range studies, e.g. surveys, trials, qualitative research, intervention development research. These studies often investigate the psychological/behavioural development and mental health of young people, and your participation would be an invaluable contribution.

Previously, researchers partnering with the WISDOM Research Network have conducted studies on anxiety in young people, emotional regulation in neurodiverse children, well-being, and co-developing resources with schools and young people

Check out our research!

Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) projects

PPIE in research is a partnership between researchers and members of the public, working collaboratively to develop and carry out research. It shifts the dynamic of research, allowing research to be carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public, rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them. This may look like:

• Conversations
• Focus Groups
• Advisory or review boards
• Joint working — making grant applications, developing research questions
• Co-presenting at conferences and events
• Creative processes or outputs — e.g. zines, performances, podcasts

By being involved in research, schools and students have the opportunity to make their voices heard. PPIE centres the perspectives and lived experiences of real people, giving them an opportunity to produce research that is relevant and feels true to their experience. They have an opportunity to influence the direction of future research and the development of further actions.

The inclusion of PPIE in research improves research quality and enhances study design, leading to more accessible and effective research outcomes. For more information on PPIE, check out the NIHR or GOSH pages on PPIE.

We highly encourage schools to participate in our research activities. If you have any questions, or are particularly interested in taking part in specific areas of research, please contact us — email the WISDOM Research Network team at wisdom.network@psy.ox.ac.uk.