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.
- Peer support work is increasingly becoming recognized as a vital component of support programs for people experiencing homelessness but is not always recognized as a benefit by potential future employers. Conduct interviews or surveys with Human Resource Managers in your area to learn more about their opinions on peer support work. What do they think of candidates who have held peer support positions? What information would they need to help dispel any associated stigma, such as the transferable skills these individuals possess?
- There are many special populations at higher risk of homelessness. Identify one or more of these groups and conduct an environmental scan of organizations that offer tailored supports for them in your community, or more broadly in your province or nationwide. What knowledge mobilization strategy could you use to make the information you find accessible to service providers and clients who could benefit from having it?
- Burnout, compassion fatigue, and traumatic stress are all mental health challenges that people might experience when working in helping professions. These terms are often used interchangeably but have different meanings. Conduct a literature review to trace the history and usage of each term in research studies. Are they used consistently? If not, provide insight about what each term means and recommendations on how they might be used more precisely in the future.
