Sprott Summer Research Experience from the Perspective of a Recent Graduate

Best of Both Worlds
By: Sasha Valgardsson, Bachelor of International Business (2022), concentration in International Marketing and Trade

As a recent graduate from the Bachelor of International Business program with an interest in MSc programs, having had the experience to work firsthand with Dr. Leighann Neilson during the Sprott Summer Undergraduate Research Program was invaluable to my growth both within the world of academia and outside of it. This program allotted me the incredible opportunity to enhance my academic research skills, learn a new software (NVivo), gain insights that will support me in my future projects, and develop a wonderful relationship with Sprott researchers, especially Dr. Leighann Neilson.

The research project I was a part of was part of a larger project involving faculty and students from Sprott School of Business (Merridee Bujaki, Francois Brouard and Leighann Neilson) and faculty from Telfer School of Management (Sylvain Durocher) and Nipissing University (Alisher Mansurov). Prior to my joining, the research team had been examining the recruitment documents of professional accounting firms to assess whether they meet the firms’ equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) goals. Specifically, we were looking at how the text and visual elements (people in the photos, graphics, etc.) demonstrate how these accounting firms are (or aren’t) living up to their EDI goals.

Our research examined how post-secondary students, including potential employees of public accounting firms, perceive select photographs from the recruitment website of a Big 4 public accounting firm. We surveyed accounting/business students and gathered their written observations and interpretations of three photographs seen in previous research as conveying messages related to EDI. At this point, the research team had analyzed the data in two ways: 1) an accounting student research assistant used an Excel spreadsheet to record and classify informants’ comments regarding the content and meaning of the elements in the recruitment ads; and 2) a faculty member familiar with data analytic techniques has used textual analysis and natural language processing (NLP) methods to identify topics included in student responses and sentiments expressed through their choice of language. My role as a summer research intern stemmed from the question: would there be significant differences in interpretation resulting from the type of analysis process we used?

I kicked off the internship by spending a lovely amount of time with our librarians to learn NVivo, a qualitative data analysis (QDA) software. By learning critical visual analysis techniques and how to use QDA software, I was able to support the existing research group by making a methodological contribution. With the addition of my work this summer, we are now able to compare three different methods of analysis and interpretation of visual data. With the increasing prominence of using artificial intelligence and NLP in research, it’s important to determine whether these methods replicate traditional analysis methods (such as my work this summer) or if they take us in new directions.

Using both textual analysis and NLP, we were able to examine students’ responses to identify topics, evaluate sentiment, and other semantic aspects. Our investigation reveals what students view as the most prominent features of these recruitment photographs, the meanings they discern from the photographs, and how they perceive diversity and inclusion. We’re then able to analyze how results differ by students’ immigration position, minority status, gender, and other characteristics. This research plays an important role in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in accounting and informing marketing practitioners on how to craft compelling advertisements of EDI.

Overall, working on this research project alongside experienced researchers in the Sprott
community was an exceptional opportunity. I had the chance to work both independently on the research while being a part of a very collaborative research team that created such a positive and supportive environment throughout the program—the best of both worlds. The experience has provided me with a confidence to perhaps pursue my own research one day, and has certainly encouraged me to consider future graduate studies. In the meantime, the skills and insights gained through this experience will serve me well until the next best thing.