General Information

Why the Manual?

We feel that students need some hands-on practice when learning to conduct social science projects. Since there were no textbooks out there that do that job, I decided to write something simple and relatively affordable for students.

You will notice the elements are short and to the point.

We also are very enthused about the Innovatank platform and its enormous possibilities!

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank many people who have helped and inspired me to complete this project. First, I must pay tribute to Dr. Isabelle Carrier, Dean of the Social Science and Business Technology Sector at Dawson College. She has prepared the Tips and Tricks Course Pack for the Integrative Seminar Course, which inspired me to prepare this document. Also, I would like to thank Ian MacKenzie, head of the Writing-in-the-Disciplines fellowship program at Dawson. He has helped shape my thinking about teaching and pedagogy, especially about designing writing assignments in economics and methods courses.

Who is Charles-Albert Ramsay?

His last name refers to Scottish ancestors. An immigrant settled in Lévis, Quebec, with an Irish lady a long, long, time ago. Ramsay is actually a French-Normand name, with Scandinavian roots. His first name refers to French-Canadian side of Rioux, Vinet and Couture ancestors.

After growing up in suburban Ottawa in a Franco-Ontarian household, he moved out at the age of 20 and completed undergraduate and master’s degrees in Economics at the Université de Sherbrooke in the Estrie region. His master’s thesis was titled “Innovation Economics and the Geography of Patents in Quebec, 1972-1989.”

During his studies he was also involved in student journalism and later worked as a staff writer in print media at Les Affaires, and then as a chase-producer at TV-news station TVA-Argent. After five great years of writing on business and economic issues, and travelling across Quebec and even to South Africa, he chose to change career paths and started teaching at Dawson College. Being addicted to writing, I continue to write course packs and academic articles.

You can also follow my Facebook page: “Charles-A. Ramsay – The Economics Instructor”.

Who is Marie-Pierre Gosselin?