Common Ground

“We pay you for your time because your time is important and valuable, but people walk away having had a good time and having learned something about their community, a few even learn something about themselves, and that's really what our academic team was put together in the first place, is to help Albertans understand more about themselves and their communities."

Focus group aims to understand provincial political culture A team of political scientists do an Alberta-wide survey twice a year to gather individual opinions about issues of the day like Alberta’s place in confederation or matters of public policy.

A lot has changed in Alberta politics over the last year.

That’s why the Common Ground team is visiting communities across the province again this summer. If you live in any of the following places, we’d love to meet with you in one of our focus groups:

Edmonton (July 2, 3)
St. Paul (July 9)
Lloydminster (July 10)
Lethbridge (July 29)
Hanna (July 30)
Calgary (August 5, 6)
Grande Prairie (August 12)
High Level (August 13)
Fort McMurray (August 14)

Sign up by visiting our website: commongroundpolitics.ca

🚨 Don’t miss out! Catch Dr. Jared Wesley's 2024 Henry Marshall Tory Lecture, a thought-provoking exploration of themes like polarization, factionalism, and democratic backsliding in Alberta. 📺 Now on Youtube:

2024 Henry Marshall Tory Lecture 2024 Henry Marshall Tory LectureFinding Common Ground in Polarized Times: Rediscovering Alberta's Political CulturePresented by Dr. Jared Wesley PhDUniversit...

https://cground.substack.com/p/resistance-to-alberta-pension-plan

Call for survey questions! 📞

This year, we are launching a new project: an annual student survey question competition. We are inviting University of Alberta students to submit proposals for question modules to be included in the 2023 Viewpoint Alberta Survey collected in January. The deadline for submitting proposals is December 1, 2023.

Learn more on our website: https://www.commongroundpolitics.ca/student-survey-question

The Common Ground team at the University of Alberta helps people understand the difference between who they are and who they think they are when it comes to politics. We use focus groups and surveys to explain how the gap between political culture and public opinion can lead to a false sense of social reality, exclusion, and polarization.

If you are an honours student, we are open to discussing how our ongoing research might support your thesis project. Alternatively, you might think of ways to integrate our research into any term papers you may be considering. Check out our website here: https://www.commongroundpolitics.ca/join-our-team.

While we are not hiring undergraduate research assistants at the moment, we are working with undergraduate students to apply for funding through the UAlberta Undergraduate Research Initiative (URI). There are two main granting programs, which fund students' independent research over the summer:

The URI Undergraduate Researcher Stipend (deadline: February)
The Roger S. Smith Undergraduate Researcher Award (deadline: March)

We are also keen to assist senior-level students graduating in the near future with applying for admission to our UAlberta graduate program (deadline: January 15 for next fall) and securing Canada Graduate Scholarships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (deadline: December 1).

If you are interested in discussing how your research interests align with those of Common Ground, and how these might translate into successful admission and award applications, please feel free to make an appointment with us to discuss it a bit further.

To schedule an appointment, please visit the following links:

Dr. Feodor Snagovsky (public opinion, white identity, conspiracy theories): https://calendly.com/snagovsky/office-hours

Dr. Jared Wesley (political culture, false sense of social reality, polarization):
https://calendly.com/jjwesley/partner.

What's life like for the typical Albertan? If you're in St. Paul (Nov 20) or Fort McMurray (Dec 15 & 16) or we'd love to meet with you. Sign up for a focus group here (and earn $75 for your time): http://commongroundpolitics.ca

If pictures are worth a thousand words, a thousand drawings speak volumes about politics in Alberta. In our latest research brief, we discuss how youth absorb Alberta's Wild West culture.

Becoming Albertan How do youth fit into Alberta's wild west culture?

Do you live in or near St. Paul? We'll be in town again August 3. If you have the time to discuss what life's like for the typical Albertan, we'd love to meet with you. Sign up for our focus group here (and earn $75 for your time): http://commongroundpolitics.ca

Do you live in or near Fort McMurray? We'll be in town again July 31 and August 1. If you have the time to discuss what life's like for the typical Albertan, we'd love to meet with you. Sign up for our focus group here (and earn $75 for your time): http://commongroundpolitics.ca

Do you live in or near High Level? We'll be in town June 26. If you have the time to discuss what life's like for the typical Albertan, we'd love to meet with you. Sign up for our focus group here (and earn $75 for your time):

Common Ground 2023 Focus Group TourWhat is life like for the typical Albertan?  We’re conducting a series of focus groups in communities across the province to understand more about what it’s like to live here. We compensate chosen participants at a rate of $50 per hour ($75 for 90 minutes).   Red DeerJun...

Do you live in or near Red Deer? We'll be in town June 12 and 13. If you have the time to discuss what life's like for the typical Albertan, we'd love to meet with you. Sign up for our focus group here (and earn $75 for your time): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCg5QKyYUxv_EYaZOAjhuvtiwT0fLuzii9FZBiHG3oTyJZsw/viewform?usp=sf_link

What is life like for the typical Albertan? We’re conducting a series of focus groups in communities across the province to understand more about what it’s like to live here.

We compensate chosen participants at a rate of $50 per hour.

Sign up today: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCg5QKyYUxv_EYaZOAjhuvtiwT0fLuzii9FZBiHG3oTyJZsw/viewform?usp=sf_link