Ciara Keenan

Ciara Keenan is a Visiting Professor in the School of Psychology at Queen's University Belfast. She holds a PhD and master’s in education, with expertise in systematic review and meta-analysis methodologies. Her research bridges education, sociology, social work, and social psychology, focusing on vulnerable populations, including marginalized groups, individuals with disabilities, and those in post-conflict societies.

Dr. Keenan is a Methods Editor for Campbell’s Education Coordinating Group (ECG) and an editor for policy reviews in the Children and Society journal. She leads research teams in the Children’s sector and founded the meta-evidence blog and Twitter accounts (@evidencerobot and @COVID_Evidence). Her work emphasizes capacity-building through workshops and training in quantitative research methods, including R statistical analyses for meta-regression and network meta-analysis.

Research Focus: Her key interests include systematic reviews, meta-analyses, RCTs, and QEDs, particularly in education equity, race, ethnicity, homelessness, and disability. Recent projects include analyzing psychological determinants of pandemic behaviors (e.g., social distancing, mask-wearing) and evaluating interventions for autism policy, family planning in LMICs, and youth diversion programs.

Collaborations: She has extensive international collaborations, publishing in journals like Campbell Systematic Reviews and Children and Society. Her work has been cited in policy documents and referenced across social media platforms.