18.2 – Conduct Research

Purpose & Context

Career Development Professionals (CDPs) conduct research relevant to their practice to inform their work and ensure the guidance they provide is mindful of the labour market of the day. This enables them to go beyond currently available publications in determining sectors, occupations and areas where the number of job opportunities is growing, and what skills are needed for them.

Effective Performance

Competent career development professionals must be able to:

P1. Identify issue to be researched
P2. Conduct literature review:
- Identify existing findings
- Identify gaps in research
- Review methods used in previous research
P3. Write research questions
P4. Select research methodology, considering:
- Information needs
- Implications on data collection and quality
- Resources available
- Time constraints
- Audience and intended use of results
P5. Select analytical methodologies:
- Qualitative research, e.g. focus groups, interviews, ethnographic research, case study, observation
- Quantitative research, e.g. online surveys, questionnaire, longitudinal studies
P6. Formulate data collection guidelines
P7. Collect data
P8. Assess quality of incoming data, adjusting data collection if required
P9. Prepare data for analysis:
- Select the appropriate software to organise the data, e.g., SPSS, Microsoft Excel
- Establish coding protocols
- Input data
- Clean data, e.g. edit:
  - Recode, if necessary
  - Check for errors
  - Identify and code missing values
P10. Perform data analysis
P11. Present findings

Knowledge & Understanding

Competent career development professionals must know and understand:

K1. Sources of Labour Market Information, for example:
- Chamber of Commerce
- Other governmental sources, e.g. Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey
- Labour Market Information Council
- Industry councils for key industries, e.g. BuildForce for construction
- Private companies, e.g. RBC Economics
K2. Data collection methods, e.g. personal interviews, focus groups, online surveys
K3. Data analysis methods:
- Quantitative methods, e.g. analysis of variance, correlation
- Qualitative methods, e.g. content analysis

Contextual Variables

Competent career development professionals must be able to perform this competency in the following range of contexts:

Research objectives will determine the methodologies to be used.

Glossary & Key References

Terms

Industry-specific terms contained in the standard defined here, where applicable.

None

Information Sources and Resources for Consideration

None

Context Rating Scales

Criticality

Q: What is the consequence of a professional being unable to perform this skill according to the standard?

Minimal risk: SOMEWHAT CRITICAL

Frequency

Q: How frequent and under what conditions is this skill performed?

Circumstantially, e.g. per project, when a specific event arises

Level of Difficulty

Q: Under routine circumstances, how would you rate the level of difficulty in performing this skill?

Moderate difficulty or complexity

Time Required to Gain Proficiency

Q: What is the average length of time or number of repeated events that are minimally necessary for an individual to become proficient in performing the skill to the standard?

A competent career development professional requires the experience of conducting a minimum of 10 research studies using varied research methodologies to be proficient.

Autonomy

Practitioners typically perform this competency without supervision, and alone.

Automation

It is unlikely that this competency will automate.

Requisite Work Aids, Tools, Equipment or Materials

None