Student Research Ideas
If you are interested in learning more about homelessness and contributing new knowledge to the field, here are some ideas you may want to consider for an Honour’s or Master’s thesis.
- The Canadian Definition of Homelessness, created by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, has been widely adopted in research, policy, and practice. Conduct an international review to identify what definitions of homelessness exist in other countries and compare them to Canada’s.
- Van den Hoonaard (2018) argues that the term ‘vulnerability’ is commonly used but misapplied in research, as people may not want the term used to describe them. Conduct a literature review tracing the usage of terms like vulnerability and marginality to see how researchers have used them over time.
- We are increasingly shifting towards an approach that recognizes the value of preventing homelessness. It is important to note that prevention work must be tailored to specific populations, such as the framework dedicated to youth homelessness prevention. Identify another group who are at high risk of homelessness and conduct a literature review / environmental scan to develop a framework for them. Examples include LGBTQ2S+ persons, Indigenous persons, seniors, persons with disabilities, and newcomer Canadians.
