Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

My Experience As A Phonetics Research Assistant, Damaris Holmes

SASAH 4th Year Capstone and Other Projects: Publications

When my exchange was shortened due to COVID-19, I had the opportunity to undertake a part-time research assistant position with Dr. Jeff Tennant in the French and Linguistics departments at Western. Our project studied the rhythm and intonation of the speech of Franco-Ontarians. This paper serves as a description and reflection of this experiential learning opportunity. Specifically, it explores the challenges of operating within a multi-year project timeline as well as dealing with imposter syndrome as a student new to true research.

This project examined the spoken language of bilingual Ontarians to determine if the classically distinct rhythm patterns of …

Survey Research: Useful, Valuable Findings Require Hard Work, Kristin Hoffmann, Selinda Berg

Western Libraries Publications

Gathering data using a survey is often perceived by practitioner-researchers as one of the easiest ways to carry out research; however, a well-constructed survey can be difficult to develop. Librarian practitioner-researchers often use surveys as an economical and easy way to capture information from a wide swath of people. Once the information is gathered, however, the application and usability of the data is often limited and can fall short of the standards of scholarship. Librarian practitioner-researchers may also default to a survey when it is not the most effective tool for data gathering. But when surveys are designed well and …

Conceptions Of Research Among Academic Librarians And Archivists, Lise Doucette, Kristin Hoffmann

Western Libraries Publications

Academic librarians and archivists occupy a unique role as researchers and as practitioners who support faculty and student researchers. However, the ways in which librarians and archivists think about research is largely unexamined, while faculty conceptions of research have been studied extensively. In this study, we analyzed drawings and interviews of 25 Canadian academic librarians and archivists and identified six conceptions of research: research is a shared, community experience; research leads to learning and growth; research is influenced by personal and professional experience; research is a process involving interrelated components; research involves refining and answering a question; research by librarians …

Street Checks: What The Literature Doesn’T Tell Us, Laura Huey

Sociology Publications

In this paper I provide a brief review of the limited research on the police practice of street checks.

Identifying Research Support Needs Of Members Of The Canadian Health Libraries Association / Association Des Bibliothèques De La Santé Du Canada, Sandy Campbell, Kelly Hatch, Nazi Torabi

Western Libraries Publications

Introduction: The CHLA/ABSC Special Committee on Research undertook this project to identify potential ways in which the Association could support its members in undertaking research. The goal was to inform future CHLA/ABSC research-related service and program offerings. A literature review revealed limited publication related to health librarians' research needs. Method: The Committee developed and distributed an online survey to CHLA/ABSC’s membership. The questions related to demographics, previous research engagement or experience, current research support, work-related research requirements and expectations, barriers and enablers for conducting research, desired research support (topic and format) from CHLA/ABSC, and types of programs that would benefit …

Staying Current In Your Field Of Interest: Tips For Aspiring Students As Researchers, Dor D. Abelman

Health Studies Publications

Undergraduate students are becoming increasingly involved in research. They already posses the skills required to make meaningful contributions to their field of interest. Some important components of their success relates to a student's ability to stay up to date in the research of their field, and to learn practical skills pertaining to the publishing process. This article hopes to help with this through presenting easy-to-follow summary tables and short paragraphs on tips for success. Topics include staying up to date in a practical way, getting involved, reaching out for help, and publication. For students, by students, this report is relatable …

Changing Chance Encounters: Historians, Serendipity, And The Digital Text, Kim Martin, Anabel Quan-Haase

FIMS Publications

Twenty academic historians in Southern Ontario were interviewed about their use of e-books and the role of serendipity in their research. A central theme that surfaced from the grounded theory analysis was that their use of digital tools and texts is limiting their opportunity for a chance encounter with information.

A “Partnership” For The Professional Development Of Librarian Researchers, Brian C. Mcmillan, Pamela Carson

Western Libraries Publications

In this article the authors introduce the Librarians’ Research Partnership (LRP), founded in 2013, at McGill and Concordia University Libraries. The Partnership was inspired by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ Librarians’ Research Institute (CARL LRI) which was attended by three of the authors in 2012 and is described here from the point of view of the participants. The authors touch upon the research culture at McGill and Concordia Libraries and discuss barriers and supports for research as prominent themes in the literature on the research role of Canadian academic librarians. The formation of the LRP and the eight subsequent …

Examining Success: Identifying Factors That Contribute To Research Productivity Across Librarianship And Other Disciplines, Kristin Hoffmann, Selinda Adelle Berg, Denise Koufogiannakis

Western Libraries Publications

While some academic librarians have embraced the role of researcher and have successfully become active researchers and authors, others have struggled to be productive in this aspect of their responsibilities. A content analysis of literature on research productivity for librarians and non-librarians was conducted in order to identify factors that have been found to affect research success. This content analysis is part of a larger study designed to develop an instrument to measure the impact of key factors on librarians' success in research. This analysis reinforces the need to identify and study those factors that are truly antecedents for librarians’ …

Stigmatization As A Social Control Mechanism For Persons Living With Hiv And Aids, Judy E. Mill, Nancy Edwards, Randy C. Jackson, Lynne Maclean, Jean Chaw-Kant

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Stigmatization contributes to inequity by marginalizing persons living with HIV and AIDS (PHAs). In this study we examined the stigmatizing practices in health care settings from the perspectives of PHAs and health care providers (HCPs). A qualitative design, using a participatory action research approach, was used. Interviews and focus groups were completed with 16 aboriginal and 17 nonaboriginal individuals living with HIV (APHAs and PHAs) and 27 HCPs in Ottawa and Edmonton, Canada. We present findings to support the premise that stigmatization can be used as a social control mechanism with PHAs. Participants described both active and passive social control …

Illuminating The Lived Experiences Of Research With Indigenous Communities, Catherine E. Burnette, Sara Sanders, Howard K. Butcher, Emily Matt Salois

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The historical exploitation experienced by indigenous people in the United States has left a number of negative legacies, including dis- trust toward research. This distrust poses a barrier to progress made through culturally sensitive research. Given the complex history of research with indigenous groups, the purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to illuminate the lived experiences of both indigenous and non-indigenous researchers conducting cul- turally competent research with indigenous people. Interviews from 13 social science research experts revealed 6 underlying themes about their research with indigenous people, including respect and commitment, mutual trust, affirmation, harmony among multiple worldviews, responsibility, …

Informed Instruction: Graduate Students' Information Seeking Behaviour, Kim Mcphee, Marg Sloan

Western Libraries Presentations

This is a research project with these objectives:

• To determine Graduate Students’ information seeking behaviours

• To determine the role people have in Graduate Students’ information seeking, and

• To identify Graduate Student knowledge/opinion of key information resources/services

Reclaiming First Nations Research: The Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute, Brian Walmark

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Traditional Knowledge, Sustainable Forest Management, And Ethical Research Involving Aboriginal Peoples: An Aboriginal Scholar’S Perspective, Deborah Mcgregor

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Searching Together: A Model For Community-Driven Research In Remote First Nations, Judy Finlay, Anna Nagy, Connie Gray-Mckay

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Sisters In Spirit Research Framework: Reflecting On Methodology And Process, Jennifer King

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

‘We Are Not Just Participants—We Are In Charge’: The Naccho Ear Trial And The Process For Aboriginal Community- Controlled Health Research, Traven Lea, Richard Murray, Margaret Culbong

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Objective. Methodological criteria that characterise ethically sound community-based studies are often described in overviews but are rarely documented in clinical studies. Research investigating the health of Aboriginal Australians is often small-scale, descriptive and largely driven by non-Indigenous people. The ‘community-controlled’ model of research relating to Aboriginal peoples health is a form of ‘participatory’ research that shifts the balance of control towards those being researched. This paper describes the methodological issues and principles that underpin community-controlled health research; their practical application; and encourages their adoption in research involving Indigenous populations.

Design. Descriptive report of the methods used to conduct the landmark …

Thinking About Your Thesis?, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.