Research

StMU seeks to create and sustain a strong culture of academic inquiry and innovation by celebrating the vital relationship between teaching and research, supporting the creation of high-quality research by its faculty, adhering to the highest ethical standards, upholding academic freedom, facilitating collaborative and interdisciplinary research initiatives, and serving the welfare of humanity.

At StMU, you will also have the opportunity to engage in the research process with faculty, in an honours programs or as part of classroom activities.

Director Of Research

In this role Dr Corinne Syrnyk provides strategic direction and leadership for research initiatives at StMU. As the senior advisor to the Vice-President Academic regarding research and grant issues, she provides coordinated leadership in these areas.

An active researcher and teacher in psychology, Dr Syrnyk has published and presented internationally in peer-reviewed articles and books. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards totalling over $100,000. While chair of the Research Ethics Board she led and participated in comprehensive revisions of policies and practices. In her role as Director of Research she aims to increase research productivity and empower faculty self-efficacy for research by improving access to resources and the visibility of faculty research and scholarship.

Dr Syrnyk recognizes the sheer determination, time, effort, and attention to detail that goes into even the most minute research project. She advises the importance of managing your expectations, resources, limitations, and goals.

Dr Syrnyk’s academic profile can be viewed here. She can be reached at corinne.syrnyk@stmu.ca

Student Research and Conference Fund

Students in capstone or honours programs may apply to have research-related expenses reimbursed up to $250. Additionally, students enrolled in a Major are eligible to apply for up to $500.00 in funding support to present research at an academic conference. The application can be found here.

St. Mary’s University Faculty Research and Scholarship Grant

St. Mary’s University Faculty Research and Scholarship Grant

Deadline: Second Monday of April

This annual, internal grant competition funds research projects up to a value of $2500 over 18 months.

Research Resources

Grant budgeting: guidance, policy, & Finance Handbook for Employees

Reminder that any research project that involves humans must have Research Ethics Board approval before participant recruitment begins.

First Nations Principles of OCAP (Faculty interested in conducting research with indigenous people are advised to take this training in advance of planning.)

Qualtrics (Please contact Help Desk)

SPSS (Please contact Help Desk)

Indigenous Ways of Knowing

TCPS-2 Chapter 9

Research Ethics

Thinking about doing research at St. Mary’s University? The Research Ethics Board (REB) is here to support and promote research and ethical thinking as symbiotic and continuous processes. The StMU REB follows national guidance provided by the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS-2, 2014). You can find our own REB Policy further down this page. If you plan on submitting an application to the StMU REB please note that applications will ONLY be accepted on the 3rd Monday of every month (should StMU be closed on such a Monday the deadline will instead be that Tuesday). Applications received after 4 P.M. on the monthly deadline will not be considered until the next deadline. Furthermore, applications that are incomplete or unclear will be returned to the applicant without review. StMU will only accept digital applications. Applications must be emailed to Dr. Alana Ireland, Chair of the REB at alana.ireland@stmu.ca. In your email, you must attach your application as a SINGLE Word document (electronic signatures are accepted). You may attach up to two additional supporting documents (e.g., Appendices). Applications that do not follow these requirements may not be reviewed. Before making an application researchers should review the StMU policy and application carefully (see below). Any questions should be directed to Dr. Alana Ireland.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications submitted to the REB in the summer months of June & July may not be responded to until August. Additionally, applications submitted during the month of December may not receive a response until January.

Notices

Due to the limited resources of the StMU REB this body will only review applications where the research is conducted by StMU researchers acting in their University capacity. This would exclude, for example, industry/privately sponsored research, wherein StMU researchers receive a salary from said industry/private enterprises. This differs from research supported by project funding agencies that provide university-based researchers with grants that enable them to conduct research.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications submitted to the REB in the summer months of June & July may not be responded to until August. Additionally, applications submitted during the month of December may not be responded to until January.

Researchers are responsible for knowing the policy. The policy must inform your application.

Reporting

We have numerous faculty who have been awarded federal funding from the Tri-Council (SSHRC, NSERC) for their research. Their success here is recognized by means of the Tri-Council’s Research Support Fund (RSF). RSF allocation is calculated based on a formula which includes the amount of funding awarded to an institution’s researchers from any of the federal research agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR) over the past three years. The RSF helps universities pay for indirect (or overhead) costs related to research including the cost of maintaining research offices, labs, and equipment, and the salaries of administration staff who support research.  

Institutions have flexibility in deciding how to use their assigned RSF provided that the funds are used for the payment of current expenditures attributed to federally sponsored research that falls within the following five categories: 

At StMU, the funding from this program is typically used to cover expenditures in the categories Research Resources and Management and Administration. That is, this allocation assists in funding the cost of research resources, survey and data analysis software and licenses. It also contributes to the course buy out of the Director of Research (a faculty member) who provides oversight on all research-related matters including assistance and support to researchers.  

In compliance with Tri-council policy, institutions receiving $25,000 or more in RSF funding are required to publicly report on the allocation of this funding every year (based on their notional amount) and provide reports from previous years. The former and latter can be found below: 

Fiscal Year RSF Allocation Expenditure Categories  Description 
2022-23 $39,472 Research resources and Management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise Research facilities Invested in maintenance of research facilities,  survey and data analysis software. Funds also contributed to the administrative support for researchers and their projects. 
2021-22 $26,843 Research resources and Management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise  Invested in electronic library resources, survey and data analysis software. Funds also contributed to the administrative support for researchers and their projects. 
2020-21 $19,238 Research resources and Management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise  Invested in electronic library resources, survey and data analysis software. Funds also contributed to the administrative support for researchers and their projects. 
2019-20 $6,112 Research resources Invested in electronic library resources, survey and data analysis software. 

Learn more about St. Mary’s University’s academic regulations.