ISSR undergraduate research opportunities

Project title

What school can do to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students – findings from the Footprints in Time longitudinal survey

Hours of engagement & delivery mode

Between 20 – 36 hrs per week within the official program dates (13 Jan – 21 Feb 2025).

The summer scholars can work through a hybrid arrangement (both on-sit and remotely).

Description

Drawing on data from Footprints in Time - the Longitudinal study of Indigenous Children (LSIC), this paper looks at what school can do to improve social emotional outcomes for the Indigenous children, in particular, their self-efficacy, academic self-concept and plan to go to university.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Scholars may develop skills in literature review and have the opportunity to be included as co-authors, depending on the extent of their contribution to the paper's writing

Suitable for

This project is open to applications from  3^rd – 4th year students only.                                                                                                

Primary Supervisor

Dr Ning Xiang

Further info

Please email n.xiang@uq.edu.au for more information.

Project title

Health and wellbeing among immigrant populations

Hours of engagement & delivery mode

Hours of engagement are no less than 20 hrs per week and must fall within the official program dates (13 Jan – 21 Feb 2025).

The project can be completed under a remote working arrangement, on-site, or hybrid, if required.

Description

Summer scholars will have the opportunity to contribute to one or more qualitative research projects concerning migration and health inequalities, for examples of the types of projects that may be available to contribute to, please see the following two projects:

Multicultural health workers in migrant and ethnic minority communities

Multicultural Health Workers can help build trust, bridge gaps between healthcare providers and communities, provide culturally appropriate care, and address language barriers for better health outcomes. This study aims to understand the mechanisms that support positive health outcomes as well as the challenges that multicultural health workers face in their work to offer evidence-based decisions for inclusive health promotion across the state and beyond.

The research may engage with innovative methods for effective participation, engagement, and generating rich data in alignment with co-designed research question/s. They may include digital storytelling, photovoice, creative workshops, reflective diaries, for example.

Third-party interpreters for research with refugee arrivals: Critical reflections

This project critically reflects on the involvement of a third-party interpreting service in qualitative evaluation research concerning community refugee resettlement in Australia. We interrogate the benefits and challenges of using third-party interpreters in the context of qualitative evaluation research by drawing on interviewer reflections and interpreter perspectives. Focus groups and reflective journals comprise the data for this study.

Projects are currently (and will be) ongoing and at various stages during the summer scholar program period, therefore, students might be involved in the following tasks:

• Research design (e.g. instrument development)
• Research planning (e.g. ethics applications, coordination, participant recruitment)
• Data collection (interviews, focus groups)
• Data analysis (using NVivo software)
• Participating in workshops and meetings with key stakeholders and colleagues
• Literature review (using databases, google scholar, Research Rabbit, and Zotero)
• Report writing
• Contributing to peer-reviewed journal articles and other published outputs

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Scholars will develop skills in qualitative methodologies (that may include thematic analysis). They may also learn how to use software designed for qualitative research (NVivo). Scholars also have the opportunity to generate a short literature review that may be used towards an academic publication, which the student may be recognised as co-author depending on the level of contribution.

Suitable for

This project is open to applications from students with a genuine interest in qualitative research and evaluation, and/or an interest in migration and health.

Primary Supervisor

Dr Charlotte Young

Further info

Please email charlotte.young@uq.edu.au for more information.

Project title

How are Humanitarian Immigrants Integrating in Australia?

Hours of engagement & delivery mode

Duration of the project, 6 weeks during Summer Vacation.

Hours of engagement must be between 20-36hrs per week

COVID-19 considerations: The project can be completed under a remote working arrangement.

Description

The aim of this project is to understand how humanitarian immigrants are integrating in Australia. We collect original data through interviews and surveys to understand the first year of settlement among humanitarian immigrants, including experiences in the housing market and with language interpretation services.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Scholars will gain skills in literature review searches, data collection, deidentification, data coding, and have the opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students may also be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project.

Suitable for

This project is open to applications from students with a background in sociology or social science discipline. Some proficiency with Nvivo is preferred, but not essential. Students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Primary Supervisor

Rennie Lee

Further info

Please email rennie.lee@uq.edu.au for more information

Project title

A Gender Agenda

Hours of engagement & delivery mode

13 Jan – 21 Feb 2025 (6 weeks)

20 hours (5 hours per day/4 days)

On-site, ISSR/LCC, Long Pocket

Description

A Gender Agenda
Bringing Equality Home: A New Gender Agenda

Since the 1970s Australia has taken important steps to address gender inequality. But in the last two decades our global ranking has fallen. Gender inequality limits women’s and men’s potential and undercuts social and economic development. At the current rate of change it is estimated that it will take over 100 years to achieve gender equality in Australia.

This project aims to turn this around. It will provide a new theoretical approach that explains why we must turn our attention to caregiving and social relationships in the home to progress gender equality.

The research will benefit Australia by showing how to reduce motherhood penalties in loss of employment and earnings and fatherhood penalties in loss of time with children.

• It will identify the life course stages where interventions will be most impactful.
• It will collect and collate new data that will be available for other researchers.
• It will train and mentor a new generation of researchers with the knowledge, expertise, engagement and communication skills to continue the work.

It will advance the potential of women and men by increasing knowledge, training, policy, and practice for social cohesion and economic prosperity.

The work is pivotal to improving gender equality and essential for ensuring Australia realises its potential to create better and fairer outcomes for all.

This project is funded by the Australian Research Council (LF230100104)

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Participants may gain skills in conducting literature reviews, quantitative data analysis, preparation of qualitative research documentation, project management and knowledge transfer materials.

Suitable for

This project is open to students in sociology, psychology, economics, education or an equivalent social sciences discipline, interested in researching gender inequality. Third and 4th year students only.

Primary Supervisor

Professor Janeen Baxter

Further info