Below please find some examples of potential ideas for 2025 Undergraduate Summer Research Internships with the TEST Lab. These will all be developed in consultation with Dr. Evan Bowness, TEST Lab members (current, past, and prospective) and in consultation with land-based community partners. These are just initial ideas - feel free to propose others.
Please see https://ssc.uwo.ca/research/usri.html for further details or send a message to discuss your interest.
1. Best Practices for Visual Social Science Methods with Land-Based Communities
Overview. This internship will explore current challenges and opportunities in using visual social science research methods (e.g., participatory mapping, photo elicitation, and videography) can effectively document and communicate social science research in collaboration with land-based communities.
Suggested Objectives
Identify successful visual social science methods used in similar contexts.
Analyze their potential for equitable, ethical collaboration with land-based communities.
Develop guidelines or resources tailored for the Lab’s future projects.
Potential Tasks
Conduct a scoping review of visual social science methods used in research collaborations with land-based communities.
Collaborate with the TEST Lab team to identify “next” practices for visual methods in the context of existing and emerging TEST Lab partnerships.
Desired Outcomes
A “next” practices report and toolkit of visual social science methods for researchers working with land-based communities to be implemented at the FRAMES (Fostering Resilience through Audio-visual Media and Engaged Scholarship) Collaboration Space (under construction).
2. Supporting Community Partnership Building in the TEST Lab and beyond
Overview. This internship will focus on identifying strategies and supports that institutions can provide to foster meaningful, equitable partnerships for community-based research in the TEST Lab.
Suggested Objectives
Understand the barriers and opportunities for building research partnerships with land-based communities, including communities in the Global South.
Potential Tasks
Conduct an environmental scan of institutional resources, policies, and programs (at Western University and/or other similar university contexts).
Interview researchers and staff to gather insights about how to conduct this work in good ways
Develop a protocol for developing and maintaining community partnerships as part of the TEST Lab.
Desired Outcomes
A report summarizing institutional supports and strategies for partnership building with a list of “next practices” and protocols for conducting community-based research with land-based communities at Western.
3. “Boundary Work” in Transdisciplinary Research Collaborations
Overview: This internship will explore strategies for effective “boundary work” in community-engaged social sciences, focusing on navigating diverse disciplinary perspectives across the social and natural sciences in work with land-based communities.
Suggested Objectives
Understand what makes boundary work effective in transdisciplinary collaborations.
Identify ways to enhance collaborations across multiple knowledge communities (natural sciences, social sciences, land-based communities).
Potential Tasks
Conduct a systematic review of literature on boundary work in transdisciplinary sustainability research.
Develop a framework for assessing and improving boundary work practices in community-directed research with land-based comunities.
Desired Outcomes
A report on “next” practices in boundary work, highlighting challenges and opportunities for transdisciplinary sustainability research collaborations with land-based communities.
4. Towards Collaborative and Community-Directed Qualitative Data Analysis
Overview. This internship will examine tools and platforms for qualitative data analysis that prioritize collaboration and community-directed approaches.
Objectives
Identify qualitative data analysis (such as NVivo, ATLAS.ti, and other) tools that facilitate co-analysis and shared decision-making in qualitative research.
Assess the accessibility and usability of these tools for diverse communities for research in the TEST Lab.
Potential Tasks
Review software and platforms for collaborative qualitative data analysis and evaluate features that support community-directed research (e.g., multilingual support, data sovereignty, etc.).
Desired Outcomes
A comprehensive review of qualitative data analysis tools and protocol for using these tools for researchers conducting transdisciplinary sustainability research.