A Research Shop project typically leads to a plain-language report (10-20 pages) prepared by a team of student researchers in response to your organization’s research question. Reports may include:

• A review of academic publications and/ or other online material;
• A scan of existing practices and initiatives;
• Results from questionnaires, interviews, and/or focus groups with identified service users, stakeholders or experts;
• Recommendations based on evidence;
• Materials to help you communicate your findings (e.g., infographics, pamphlets).

Research Shop projects are intended to help you and your organization make better decisions, improve your programming, and provide you with the evidence you need to apply for funding, support advocacy, and raise awareness.

Want to work with us? The first thing you’ll need to do is submit a research request with details about your project including its purpose, audience, and timeline. Next, Research Shop staff will contact you to learn more about the project and opportunities for collaboration. The Research Shop works on a semester-based schedule; projects can begin in September, January, or May.

Projects are considered when:

• We have student volunteers with the necessary interest and expertise;
• The project can be feasibly completed within an academic semester;
• The project stands to benefit the community and to offer a meaningful learning opportunity for volunteers.

Review examples of past projects to see the type what kind of requests we typically take on.

We work hard to scope projects with our community partners that meets their needs and provides volunteers with meaningful experiences. We aim to meet as many project requests as possible while providing quality supervision to volunteer teams.

If selected, our students will work over the course of an academic semester to gather information and write your report (or other deliverable that meets your needs). Depending on the scope of the project, some deliverables can be provided earlier within a semester, or extending into the next.

We look forward to working with you. Before submitting your request, please review our Research Shop Resource for Community Partners that provides more details about our model and the kinds of projects we take on. If you need help with your research question, review the document Turning Ideas Into Research Questions.