REGISTER FOR THE FALL 2027 Research coursE (NOV 2 - DEC 7) 

The IRMHP Research Course is designed to help you take the first steps towards planning and implementing research that responds to the mental health needs of immigrants, refugees, and people with precarious or no status in Canada. You will learn about the different ways in which research can enrich your front-line work as well as best practices to ensure that newcomers and communities feel welcome, safe and equitably involved.

As you progress throughout the course, you will have the opportunity to become familiar with certain types of research depending on your research goals, the time span your study aims to cover and the type of data you want to collect. These aspects will be essential to formulate a relevant, well-informed research question and choose the most appropriate design. You will also learn some essential strategies to make the best out of your quantitative or qualitative data and share your findings among diverse audiences in a compelling way.

Remember: we can only transform mental health care if we have accurate and trustworthy evidence about the people that are being impacted by health care inequities and the moments and places where those inequities arise. Evidence generated through high-quality research can empower immigrant and refugee communities, strengthen their opportunities to enjoy the best mental health possible, and facilitate change among service providers, health care systems and policymakers.

This course is free, available for six-weeks, and self-paced. In addition to the course contents, you will also find case examples, reflection opportunities, engaging interactivities and knowledge checks to solidify your learning. We have also compiled a toolkit to help you take the right steps at the right moment throughout your research. Importantly, you will not be alone in this adventure! You will have support from a course facilitator and a subject matter expert, who will provide resources, general guidance and encouragement throughout your learning journey. You can also interact with your peers across Canada and build new connections through our online community of practice.

The course consists of six sections

1. Research and front-line work with newcomers to Canada
2. Ethics and relationships in research
3. Purposes and methods for research
4. First steps in the research process
5. Next steps in the research process
6. Sharing research findings
   

After active engagement in the course, you will be able to:

• Explain the role of social research in supporting front-line settlement work with immigrants, refugees, and people with precarious or no status in Canada
• Describe key ethical research principles and considerations for building respectful and collaborative research relationships
• Differentiate research purposes, methods, study designs, and sampling approaches
• Identify relevant literature, create research questions, and select appropriate research designs
• Compare data collection strategies and describe approaches to participant recruitment, participant protection, data collection, and analysis
• Evaluate knowledge mobilization strategies and create a plan for sharing research findings with relevant audiences