Research Question/Objective:

1. Conduct a scan of evidence-based tools to effectively assess increases in reading and math abilities among grades 1-5 children.
2. Evaluate tools based on their cost, effectiveness, and user-friendliness.
3. Propose a shortlist of tools for the YMCA to use in evaluating the Beyond the Bell program.

Research Activities: 

1. What factors have enabled the successful development of housing co-ops in the last ~15 years? What were their challenges?
2. What factors led to the unsuccessful development of housing co-ops in the last ~15 years?
3. Where does co-op fit into the current housing landscape? What’s the feasibility of co-op housing in general – why/why aren’t they being built?

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Research Question/Objective: 

1. Conduct a scan of evidence-based tools to effectively assess increases in reading and math abilities among grades 1-5 children.
2. Evaluate tools based on their cost, effectiveness, and user-friendliness.
3. Propose a shortlist of tools for the YMCA to use in evaluating the Beyond the Bell program.

Research Activities: This research will involve scanning for evaluation tools based on well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, evaluating the tools, and summarizing the findings and recommendations. Structured primary data collection may be required if information necessary for the analysis is unavailable online. For example, Research Associates may telephone authors of evaluation tools to gather more information about the cost and user friendliness if that information is missing from relevant online publications. 

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Research Question/Objective: What are the details of the relationship between the city, the shelter hotel program, and shelter and housing service providers during the shelter system operation between January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2023?

Research Activities: Information on the shelter hotel program, and the shelter system in general, is scattered and fragmented. Data will thus be collected through multiple sources, including:

• Searching for public-facing documents, including reports to Hamilton’s City Council, reviews and summaries of service provision from the City of Hamilton’s Housing Services Division
• Searching public-facing documents from shelter providers
• Contacting key stakeholders at City Housing Hamilton and the City of Hamilton

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Research Question/Objective:

1. How do primary care providers’ definitions of allyship compare to the trans community?
2. To what extent are primary care providers enacting their definitions of allyship, and why?

Research Activities: This research will involve primary data collection with primary healthcare providers (e.g., interviews).

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Research Question/Objective: To what extent do Black disabled people experience medical racism and/or ableism in Ontario and Canada’s healthcare system? How, if at all, do these experience impact their health outcomes?

Research Activities: This project will involve a literature review according to the research question scoped above. 

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Research Question/Objective: The McMaster Research Shop will work with HARRC to support data collection and analysis activities as part of their public engagement process. This will include: 

• Working with HARRC to develop survey, roundtable questions, and other data collection methods.
• Supervising/supporting gender and race disaggregated data collection.
• Co-developing with HARRC a data collection privacy policy. 

Research Activities: HARRC plans to embark on a broad and comprehensive multi-phase engagement plan with the Hamilton’s diverse community, with focused sessions with Indigenous, Black, racialized, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, and LGBTQ2AI communities, agency partners and stakeholders, and City of Hamilton employees to inform the development of this Anti-Racism Strategy. The engagement plan will consist of multiple means of engagement, including a series of public consultations, facilitated discussions, online surveys, roundtables, and townhalls. 

The McMaster Research Shop will support some or all of the engagement activities. Further research activities to be scoped as the project objectives become clarified. 

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Research Question/Objective: The research is guided by the following questions, which will constitute two Research Shop projects over the course of two semesters: 

1. (Semester 1, Fall 2022) To what extent are local residents aware of the Westdale Theatre’s presence and its offerings?
   1. To what extent are they interested in its offerings? 
   2. What alternative offerings, if any, are desired? 
   3. Do they know that The Westdale is a registered not-for-profit charity? 
2. (Semester 2, Winter 2023) How, if at all, have people’s film viewing habits changed within the last few years (including the pandemic)? 
   1. How have small arthouse cinemas responded to these shifts in viewing habits? 

For the purposes of this project, local residents are defined as those living within 2km of the building. 

Research Activities: Research activities for question/semester 1 will include surveys and/or focus groups with local residents. 

Research activities for question/semester 2 include:

• A review of research, trade journals, etc. investigating changes in movie viewing habits of consumers within the last 3-5 years (with a focus on a shift in habits as a result of the pandemic) 
• Interviews with the owners of other small arthouse cinemas 

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