Research and Evaluation at MediaSmarts
What we do
Research
We design and facilitate qualitative and quantitative research projects to provide a robust evidence base for all our educational resources, public awareness campaigns and policy recommendations. Our research is also taken up by academics across Canada and internationally to support and inform other media and digital literacy research projects.
Evaluation
We design and facilitate internal program and resource evaluations to ensure that all our programs, resources, and materials are effective and evidence-based. MediaSmarts has strong in-house capacity to conduct robust evaluations and our connection with external evaluation partners is also essential to this work.
Policy & Knowledge Mobilization
Our research informs policy development in both the public and private sectors. We mobilize the findings and recommendations from our research and evaluation projects in many ways, including through research reports, white papers, blog posts, opinion editorials, public consultations, testifying before parliamentary committees, conference presentations, media interviews, podcasts, infographics and social media.
- Seeing Queer Characters in Kid's Media | The Agenda
- Media Literacy Moments: Privacy and Consent
- Young Canadians Speak Out: Considerations for Privacy and Cybersecurity in Canada
- How digital literacy can help close the digital divide
- General comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment
Collaboration
Research at MediaSmarts would not be possible without community members, organizations, and academic partners who guide and support our work and call on our expertise to return the favour. We sit on many advisory committees for other research projects across Canada and are always looking for new opportunities to collaborate with others in the digital media literacy field.
If you are interested in collaborating with the MediaSmarts research team, please send an email to info@mediasmarts.ca.
- The Human-Centric Cybersecurity Partnership (SSHRC) with Benoit Dupont and Vicky Desjardins from the Université de Montréal
- Consensual and Non-Consensual Sexting in Adolescence (SSHRC) with Faye Mishna and Betsy Milne from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto
- Optimizing Interventions to Combat COVID-19 Misinformation Online(NSERC) with Nathaniel Barr from Sheridan College
- Media Literacy & Food Marketing (SSHRC) with Charlene Elliott from the University of Calgary
- Digital Sexual Violence: Supporting Adolescents (SSHRC) with Kaitlynn Mendes at the University of Western Ontario
- The Future of Canada Digital Equity Project with Deloitte
- Project BLACKOUT with The Nia Centre
- Sedentary Behaviour Research Network
- Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University