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Research Common

 

Research Common

Information on conducting original research and on the supports available for research at Red Deer Polytechnic.

What is Research, Scholarly Activity, and Scholarship?

Red Deer Polytechnic encourages the creation and dissemination of knowledge by supporting scholarship (where results of an activity must be disseminated and make a contribution to a field of knowledge) and scholarly activity/research (a comprehensive term that is understood to be an intellectual, creative, or investigative process that may or may not lead to the production of disseminated scholarship) in an environment of open inquiry, academic freedom, creativity, and innovation.

Red Deer Polytechnic defines research, scholarly activity, and scholarship using the Boyer model, which divides activity into four distinct categories (though there can be overlap between one or more categories):

  • Teaching: has as its focus the study of pedagogy and student learning. This scholarship may also refer to the development of both the theory and application of the ways that student learning can be enriched.
  • Integration: gives meaning, insight, and perspective to facts by using disciplinary methods to interpret the significance of those facts. It involves the communication of this understanding within a particular discipline and, ideally, across disciplines to create an integration of knowledge by situating specialized information into a larger context.
  • Application/Engagement: recognizes the public usefulness of discipline-specific knowledge and explores the dynamic relationship between theory and practice. It describes ways in which scholars use their expertise to explore and address practical problems with the goal of offering solutions. This scholarship may occur in collaboration with community or industry partners.
  • Discovery: the creation of original knowledge that expands both the depth and the breadth of a discipline by working on the frontiers of that discipline to advance understanding of a particular subject.

A number of departments and committees at Red Deer Polytechnic have mandates specifically connected to creating awareness and rewarding scholarly activity, including the Research and Scholarship Committee and the Recognition of Scholarly Activity Committee. 

Examples of recent faculty projects can be found on the Faculty and Staff Research page of Red Deer Polytechnic's website.

Research, Scholarly Activity, and Scholarship @ Red Deer Polytechnic

The precise nature of scholarly activity and the accountability framework for that activity vary across the College and depend on:

  • The nature of the disciplines within a department,
  • The credentials offered by that department,
  • The academic preparation and expertise of the department members,
  • External expectations for scholarship relative to academic credibility, and
  • Expectations of funders of scholarly activity including research grant agencies and contractors for innovation projects.

Departments develop consensus regarding the specific definitions of scholarly activity that are encouraged and supported and the accountability processes that will be applied within the principles and guidelines provided in this policy. Department norms related to scholarship provide guidelines for those seeking continuous appointment, for recruiting new faculty members, and for continuing professional development.

Research, Scholarly Activity Strategic Plans