>> The CURE database wants your research requests! 

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 07:43 PM

CURE is an o­nline database of research requests that are submitted by community groups and non-profit organizations, and completed by university students. We are a non-profit, student-run initiative.

We are writing o­n the behalf of the Community-University Research Exchange (CURE), a student research program we are developing over the course of this summer in conjunction with QPIRG Concordia and QPIRG McGill. (We regret that this callout is o­nly in English. Our project will be conducted mainly in English but welcomes Francophone groups and contributions -- we will work to accommodate issues of translation as best we can.)

 

CURE is an o­nline database of research requests that are submitted by community groups and non-profit organizations, and completed by university students. We are a non-profit, student-run initiative. Our mandate is as follows:

 

1.      Broaden the kind of academic work that is available to students

2.      Give community organizations and their issues access to the knowledge and  resources circulating in the academic sphere

3.      Make more permeable the boundary between the University and its local environment

4.      Facilitate productive, mutually transformative interactions between students and activists

 

We are writing to solicit requests for research: does your organization need specific information, but you don't have the means to seek it out, or the time to compile it? Would you like to compare the work that you do with similar organizations? Do you have an amassment of data that needs to be analyzed, archived, or reported o­n? Are you interested in having a student participate in your organization, and provide you with a review of their experience? All requests, from the apparently menial to the most demanding, are welcome.

 

How to submit: we've attached a form to help you structure your request -- just fill out the submissions form and send an email with it attached in .doc format to cure.mtl@gmail.com. These requests will be compiled and organized in an o­nline database that will be public -- if you have any disclosures about your organization that cannot be publicized, please specify them as such. Students will select these projects and we will help them co-ordinate with the university to undertake the research for credit. CURE will act as a liaison between the student and your group, and will facilitate the development of research projects. If you have any questions about this process, please do not hesitate to call Emilie: 514 991 6072.

Please send in your submissions by August 15th, 2008 to cure.mtl@gmail.com

////Some words o­n our ethics////

 

CURE is in an inaugural phase, and so we have not cemented any policies surrounding our ethical program. We are going to operate o­n the basis of mutual ownership of whatever materials are produced by the student and/or organization; completed materials will, with the consent of each party, be uploaded to our website and reproducible under a Creative Commons license that requires the accreditation of the author(s) for any reprints. We do recognize that certain research dynamics will require the joint accreditation of the research; however, this will be determined o­n a case-by-case basis, in conjunction with both parties. Any specific ethical or practical issues which concern your organization's participation in CURE will be negotiated before the publication of your request o­n the website. Please note these concerns along with your request, and we will contact you in the next few weeks.

 

 

Thank you for your time!

 

Best,

 

Emilie Connolly

Shayla Chilliak

Co-ordinators, CURE

CURE Research Request Form

 

1.     Brief description of the organization (a few sentences, please):

 

2.     Research request title:

 

 

3.     Research description, including specific research question, context of research, and how the final product will be used by your organization (approximately 100 words):

 

 

4.     Type of final product desired (i.e. feasibility study, program design, information kit, evaluation report, grant proposal, video, pamphlet, literature review):

 

 

5.     Length desired:

 

 

6.     Type of research (e.g. compilation of information already in your office, primary data collection such as interviews or surveys):

 

 

7.     Education/skills required from student:

 

 

8.     Contact person for the research project:

 

Thank you! Please e-mail completed form to cure.mtl@gmail.com, by August 15th, 2008