Research Opportunities

Here you will find opportunities for athletes to voluntarily participate in studies and research opportunities.

Current Opportunities

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• Retired Female Olympian Health Project – UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

  The Moray House School of Education and Sport is recruiting retired female Olympians and members of the general public to take part in a research project to help us better understand how to support female athletes throughout their careers.

  The purpose of the research project is to explore and understand the current health status of retired female Olympians and how this compares to females in the general population. In doing so, we hope to better understand the long-term potential benefits and consequences of sustained Olympic-level sporting participation on the health of female athletes.

  Lead Investigator, Dr. Lauren Guilfoyle, will join co-investigators Dr. Debbie Palmer and Dr. Alan MacPherson in exploration of long-term implications of sustained elite performance on the health of female Olympians, compared to their male counterparts.

  The study is conducted via an online survey and will take approximately 40 minutes.

  If you are interested in participating in this study, please click on the link for more information and to provide consent to participate: Retired Female Olympian health project | Moray House School of Education and Sport

• Thrive Like Her: A Sport-Integrated Self-Compassion Program – UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN

  PhD Candidate in the College of Kinesiology, Karissa Johnson is working with Dr. Leah Ferguson to recruit competitive women’s sports teams, including coach and athletes, to participate in a sport-integrated self-compassion program.

  • If interested in taking part in data collection, coaches will complete a demographic and sport history survey (10-15 minutes).
  • Athletes will complete the same, in addition to a questionnaire package to assess self-compassion, self-criticism, performance, well-being, and self-talk (20-30 minutes).

  Throughout the program, all team members will have access to educational resources and self-compassion practices. Athletes will receive four, 1-hour sessions regarding what self-compassion is and its benefits in sport. They will also get daily prompts to set self-compassion goals before their sport and reflect on their performance after sport. These reflections are expected to take about 2-5 minutes each. Coaches will receive one group training session regarding what self-compassion is, and be provided recommendations on how to integrate self-compassion to their regular sport routine. Coaches get to choose how teams practice self-compassion as part of the team routine.

  To help us understand how teams are engaging in sport-integrated self-compassion programming, coaches and athletes will take 1-minute to rate their engagement in the program each week.

  To ensure voluntary consent in being part of data collection, team members (i.e., coaches and athletes) will be invited to participate in having their data collected on an individual basis. The choice to have data collected or not will not impact access to program sessions or the app content, and it will not impact the relationship with the researchers in anyway.

  Coaches who are interested in taking part in the research can contact Karissa Johnson and Kiera Dyck, at thrivinginsport@usask.ca

• Student-Athlete Mental Health Survey – BROCK UNIVERSITY

  Brock University’s Student Athlete Mental Health Initiative and its Director, Phil Sullivan, are looking for Canadian high performance athletes to volunteer to participate in an anonymous online survey. Participation should take about 15 minutes and everyone who submits a survey will be eligible for one of 10 $100 Visa gift cards. Click here to participate.

• Emotions in Sport – UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

  This University of Toronto study by Kirsten Hutt is recruiting participants for the purposes of exploring the emotional experiences of athletes. The purpose of the study is to examine how athletes experience emotions in sport. We are seeking athletes over the age of 16 who participate in competitive sport in Canada.

  Participation in this study involves completing one survey (and potentially one interview): the survey will ask questions about how athletes perceive and experience emotions, and how you regulate these emotions. If eligible, based on survey responses, you will be contacted to participate in one interview that will last approximately 60 minutes. The interview will take place over Zoom or wherever is most convenient for you. Your participation is completely anonymous and none of your information will be shared with any coaches, teammates, or staff.

  If you are interested in participating in this study, please click on the survey link below for more information and to provide consent to participate: https://redcap.utoronto.ca/surveys/?s=983TJ9RDX8Y8K34D

  If you have any questions or would like additional information about the study, please contact Kirsten Hutt back on this email (kirsten.hutt@mail.utoronto.ca).

• Para Athletes Experiences of Pregnancy and Return-to-Sport Postpartum – UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

  Conducted through the University of Alberta, the study was developed to understand elite Para athletes experiences training and/or competing during pregnancy. There is a small body of research focusing on sports (e.g., soccer, rugby) during and following pregnancy, however, very little research focusing on elite Para athletes during pregnancy.

  Participation in this study will include survey should take you approximately 20 minutes to complete. The questions focus on your experiences competing and training during and after pregnancy. We will also ask about any complications, labour, fetal/infant health, and your mental health. You do not have to answer any questions that you do not want to answer.

  The study’s principal investigators include Dr. Margie Davenport, PhD, Dr. Tara-Leigh McHugh, PhD and Dr. Erica Gavel, PhD, with support from research assistant Laura Osachoff.

  This information will be used to develop future studies to further our understanding of this topic.

  If you are interested in participating in this study, please click on the survey link below for more information and to provide consent to participate: Consent Form

• Dietary Supplement Patterns in Canadian High-Performance Athletes – UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

  Principal investigator, Dr. Jane Shearer, Ph.D., and associates from the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary are conducting a research study titled, Dietary Supplement Patterns in Canadian High-Performance Athletes.

  The purpose of this research study is to examine the various types of supplements used by Canadian high-performance athletes, assess where athletes commonly get their information about dietary supplements, and gain an appreciation for factors influencing use, knowledge, and adherence to supplements.

  To take part in this research, you must be an athlete registered with one of the seven Canadian Sport Institutes/Centres or be a member of a varsity team at a Canadian university and have access to an electronic, internet connected device to complete the survey. The questionnaire should take 15-20 minutes to complete. In order to complete the survey, it is advised that all current supplements be readily available so that names and dosages can be recorded.

  If you are interested in participating in this study, please click on the survey link below for more information and to provide consent to participate: Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

  If you have any questions or would like additional information about the study, please contact Dr. Keely Shaw at (306)-458-7102.

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