About Cass – ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS)

The ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS) is a publicly funded research centre, established in 2013 to deliver cutting-edge research with real-world impact. Since its foundation, we have published hundreds of research papers and books, trained more than 80,000 people worldwide in corpus methods and attracted over £20 million in external research funding.

Based at Lancaster University, our Centre is a world leader in corpus linguistics – a powerful approach that combines rigorous, systematic linguistic analysis with advanced computational technology and specialised software to examine vast amounts of language data.

Put simply, we study millions and even billions of words drawn from across society –from news articles and spoken language to social media, parliamentary debates and other sources. By analysing these datasets, we identify patterns in how people communicate and how language is used to discuss and respond to key social issues. This enables us to understand both how language shapes society and how society shapes language.

Our research generates practical, evidence-based insights that help policymakers, organisations and communities tackle real-world challenges. We work with partners to improve public communication, inform policy, strengthen decision-making and support meaningful social change. By identifying significant patterns in language, we help address some of society’s most pressing challenges.