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What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? Major in Marketing.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Spring 2019).

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course? One of the most useful skills that I acquired in the process of writing a proper research paper was learning how to write in a more coherent manner.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? I enjoyed the positive and comfortable environment between the students and the speakers which made the learning experience enjoyable. They encourage you to participate and to push yourself.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? Although it may look overwhelming at first, stick to it and feel free to ask questions or request feedback. Try to attend as many bonus workshops as possible as some of them are really handy and will make the process of writing your research paper go more smoothly.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? Brand Marketing or something else in the marketing field.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? My program is Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL).

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Winter 2019).

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course? There are two major things that stand out for me:

The framework to write a research paper:
The most useful tool was the precise framework to write a research paper that INTE298 unfolded throughout the semester. The framework was particularly useful since it was divided among the different sections of a research paper: introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.
The literature review mind map to connect concepts:
More specifically, in the literature review, the most helpful tool was learning how to elaborate a mind map to connect the concepts within a research question. While connecting existing literature in a meaningful way can be challenging, the mind map allows for the literature review to flow.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? The individual workshops dedicated to the different sections of a research paper were my favourite. Since an entire workshop day was dedicated to a section, we had multiple opportunities to become familiar with the section, which allowed us to have the necessary tools to successfully write that section on our own.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? I would strongly recommend that future WSSR students interested in taking this course, take some time to read a few research papers from the Concordia library prior to the course in order to become familiar with the general idea of the structure and the major components of a research article. I would recommend this because some students in my cohort expected this course to be about essay writing as opposed to writing a research paper.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? My dream job when I graduate is to become a university professor and researcher in an applied linguistics program. I am particularly interested in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and would love to further investigate phenomena in this field.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? Major in Political Science

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Fall 2018) & INTE 398 - WSSR: Introduction (Winter 2019)

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course? INTE298 taught me how to properly look for credible sources. I believe every new university student should take this course. I guarantee you will write with greater confidence for all your future courses which involve essays and research papers.

Which was your favorite WSSR workshop? My favorite workshop would be Dr. Kiera Ladner’s Surviving Canada because she portrayed very well the various issues that Indigenous people continue to face every day.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? The WSSR experience is unique. The workshops are not your typical lectures, they are not solely seminars and they are not filled with students from a single major.

The workshops have a mixture of teaching styles and students from various fields, which is different than the usual courses you will take at Concordia. For instance, the guest speaker holds a conversation with the entire class, which makes students more engaged.

Additionally, the students in the class come from different programs, which brings out different views and opinions, compared to having a whole class of political science students discussing a topic.

I continue taking WSSR courses for these reasons.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? It may seem overwhelming at first, but do not quit. As I mentioned, the WSSR experience is unique and it is not your usual lecture style class. Be prepared to engage, attend workshops you are interested in and ask questions!

What would be your dream job when you graduate? My dream job is within the legal field.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? BA in Honours Psychology.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Spring 2019).

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course?

Knowing what information is relevant in each section of a research paper.
Knowing what style to use to make a captivating and relevant paper.
Acquiring research tools.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? The fact that we were a small group and that the teacher was including every single one of us. Everyone seemed comfortable to share their opinion.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? Don’t register for this class thinking it’ll be an easy one. Although it can be overwhelming at times, it’ll be useful for the rest of your studies. Also, don’t drop the class. The first weeks are the most overwhelming, but the knowledge you’ll gain from the course is worth it.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? Clinical psychologist.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? I am pursuing a major in Communication and Cultural Studies and Minor in Women’s studies.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Fall 2018), INTE 398 - WSSR: Introduction (Winter 2019) & WSDB 498 - WSSR: Advanced Seminar (Spring 2019)

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course? This course has served as a toolkit for me for writing all my academic papers, whether in conducting a systemic literature search or in organizing my discussion section. Most importantly INTE298 has empowered me to think and write more critically about a given topic.

Which was your favorite WSSR workshop? Ian Capstick’s workshop on the Inside an Election War Room: Hands-on lessons in rapid response remains my favourite workshop. Not only did the speaker captivate the class with his war room stories, but the workshop also enabled me to gain a better perspective on how political parties' war room strategies impact the way the Canadian democratic system operates.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? The best part of my WSSR experience was having the opportunity to interact with distinguished speakers, as well as exchanging with classmates. It is also important that students have opportunities to learn from one another’s varied experiences and perspectives. I have found that the WSSR workshops function as learning communities built on shared inquiry and dialogue.

Finally, I have truly enjoyed the academic support that the WSSR team provides, from the complimentary coffee and/or tea to extending a deadline. WSSR have created a support system that has your best interest at heart and will give you the assistance you need to succeed.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? I strongly suggest that you come prepared to the workshop (do the assigned readings) because it enables you to be more engaged with the material being presented and contributes to more interesting class discussions.

Also do not be afraid to ask questions and seek the speakers and students’ opinions on the topic.

Finally, I encourage future WSSR students to use the class office hours; the TA is a great resource and offers valuable guidance for your assignments.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? Instead of looking for my dream job, I have chosen to follow my passion and lead with purpose, and my dream job will find me.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? I’m doing a double major in journalism and sociology.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Fall 2018).

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course? The most useful tools that I acquired in the INTE298 course were learning to write all the different parts in a research paper and how to research scholarly articles online.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? My favourite part was that we got to learn something that seems basic but is so helpful for other classes. I also liked that we could discuss and share our topics and assignments in groups during each workshop.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? Don’t give up or drop the course, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Feedback is the key to improvement.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? My dream job would be to become an investigative journalist.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? I graduated at the end of summer 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts, Major Political Science, Minor Law & Society

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? WSDB 498 - WSSR: Advanced Seminar (Spring 2018) & INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Winter 2019)

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course? I learned how to properly organize my ideas.

Which was your favorite WSSR workshop? The workshop held by Ian Capstick on Inside an Election War Room: Hands-on lessons in rapid response, it was a great experience.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? The guest speakers bring a little something to every workshop which makes it different from the traditional university classroom.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? WSSR is the best way to stand out in a classroom in an informal way, it is also a great opportunity to bond and network with experts in different fields of expertise.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? My dream job would be to become a criminal and penal defence lawyer and represent marginalized communities.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? Liberal Arts and Political Science - Double major.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? POLI 480 - WSSR: Advanced Seminar (Winter 2019).

Which was your favorite WSSR workshop? I really enjoyed Janet Brown’s Public Opinion and Polling: Alberta’s changing political culture because it made me see statistics and polling in a different way that was much more interesting to me. It made me realize all the different things we can achieve with polling and different ways to approach political culture.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? I loved being surprised at every workshop. I ended up loving even the workshops that I did not expect would be that interesting, simply because of the various ways the subjects were approached.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? Engage in the discussions! You will get much more out of the workshops.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? I would love to do research that supports environmental and sustainability policies.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? Political Science.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? POLI 480 - WSSR: Advanced Seminar (Spring 2019).

Which was your favorite WSSR workshop? I left every single workshop feeling satisfied with what I had learned that day, but there is one workshop in particular that really stands out and that is Corruption and the Media: The Vicious Circle with Judge John Gomery. The subject was thought-provoking and John Gomery is an expert in the matter. It was an honor to be able to speak with such an experienced individual.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? My favorite part of the WSSR experience was meeting such incredible people. I loved being surrounded by speakers and students who are so passionate about the topics being discussed. In many of the workshops I attended, speakers would let students guide the conversation and ask questions. This gave everyone the opportunity to speak and share their different views and opinions.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the sense of community that is felt throughout the workshops. It feels like a comfortable environment which makes learning much easier.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? There is a lot of information coming at you and it is important to be prepared when attending workshops. I would strongly suggest doing the assigned readings and asking questions as this will enhance your WSSR experience.

You get out what you put in! Be engaged in discussion, challenge yourself, choose workshops that will interest you, and lastly, have a good time doing it.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? I am still not 100% certain but I am passionate about public service so it will definitely be in this field.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? BA Honours in Political Science. Also a Minor in Law and Society and I took the Management Elective Group at JMSB.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? POLI 480 - WSSR: Advanced Seminar (Fall 2018).

Which was your favorite WSSR workshop? I mostly took workshops led by former politicians or by members of the upper administration – MPs, Senators, partisan staffers at the PMO.

This was what I wanted to hear, this experience from the administration, and as such my favourite one was most probably Rachel Curran’s Policy Implementation from the ‘Centre’: What’s involved?. It was in my opinion the most comprehensive workshop that had strong repercussions on how I perceive the Canadian Government and institutions, especially the executive branch. Through this enlightening workshop I was better able to understand the way centralized governance is accountable in our parliamentary democracy.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? The best part of the experience is really to have these mavericks giving you a very personal crash course on Canadian politics and government. From there you are able to tie all of these discussions that you had and have a broader picture on how Canadian institutions work. This is not just a theoretical approach like reading a Donald Savoie book, you literally hear people that worked in these institutions explain to you how these institutions work, from the very schedule of a day to the size and content of some of the country’s most important decision-making rooms.

There’s a feeling of awe in learning how real power is handled in our country that I adored.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? Don’t hesitate to sit close to the speaker, to ask questions, to bring a laptop and take some very extensive notes. These workshops are so rich and dense in useful knowledge, you can’t remember everything that is being said and you WILL be able to use this content in another Public Policy or Political Science class.

Don’t forget that there are absolutely no stupid questions.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? I would like to do a Master's in Public Policy and Administration, and I ultimately want to head to the federal government’s bureaucracy – a central agency of the federal government, appropriations or an economics departments. I want to be able to take an elected government’s promises, no matter how vague or unexplained they may be, and find the proper institutions, appropriations and changes necessary to make them true and make them work for the many.

What program are you in (major, minor, elective group, specialization)? Major in Urban Studies.

What WSSR credit course(s) have you completed? INTE 298 - EWC1: Writing a Research Paper 101 (Winter 2019)

What do you think was the most useful tool that you acquired in the INTE298 course? I learned how to introspect as I judged that I was unfairly graded in my assignment: instead of criticizing the corrector, I learned how to analyze my flaws and to better comprehend the professor’s expectations on the assignment. In brief, I can now critically approach my assignments in an academic way. This tool can be of benefit in our personal life as well.

What was your favorite part of your WSSR experience? As we often harshly criticize politicians, I finally could interact and exchange head to head with them. It allowed me to deconstruct the way that a politician expresses himself in order to get the attention of his or her audience. Also, I realized that many of them approach a subject or issue based on their own personal background and/or career expertise.

What would be a key piece of advice that you would give to future WSSR students? Allow yourselves to grow throughout the course of the semester by analyzing your mistakes and using the tools that you acquire in class. Also, feel free to express your insecurities as other students may be experiencing the same.

What would be your dream job when you graduate? I would love to move to where my roots are, in Algeria, and help the current urbanization that failed once the French colonization left the country in 1967 after the country earned their independence.

Concordia University

Workshops on Social Science Research (WSSR)

Workshops on Social Science Research (WSSR)

WSSR Program Ambassadors