SUSRE Undergraduate Research Assistant Accounting
Supervisor: Dr Oriane Couchoux
About the project
This research project explores how becoming a parent shapes, and changes, people’s personal finances and their relationship to money. We are interested in the everyday financial decisions parents make after having children, the challenges they face, and the strategies they use to manage money and children-related expenses.
To do this, we combine in-depth interviews with parents, a survey of parents across Canada, and an analysis of online discussions where parents talk openly about money, budgeting, childcare costs, and financial arrangements within families.
Student Role
We are looking for an undergraduate student to join the research team over the summer. The student will mainly work on the content analysis part of the project and help with monitoring the survey.
Key tasks include:
- Identifying relevant social media pages, threads, and online discussions where parents in Canada talk about finances (Reddit, Facebook, Instagram…)
- Collecting and coding posts and comments using a research software
- Summarizing patterns and trends by preparing tables and simple visuals
- Helping monitor the online survey (tracking participation, participant profiles, and remuneration)
- Assisting with preliminary analysis of survey results
This project is a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods while working on a topic that is timely, socially relevant, and closely connected to everyday life.
Skills and qualifications
The ideal candidate will have:
- Clear written communication skills
- An interest in topics related to family life, money, or personal finance
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Comfort working with online content such as social media posts and discussion forums
- Willingness to learn research software for coding and data analysis (training to be provided)
- Ability to work independently while also contributing to a research team
If you have any questions or to further discuss this opportunity, please reach out directly to Dr Oriane Couchoux.