Positions available: 3 students

Muslim population in Canada is growing at an increasing rate, and Pew Research Center forecasts Canada’s Muslim population to exceed over 2.5 million by 2030. Alberta is getting relatively higher proportion of such population because of its expanding economy. Many Muslims work high-skill and high-education professions, i.e., medicine, dentistry, engineering, etc. It is important to understand the nature of jobs Muslims do and the economic contributions they make for appropriate policy formulations. Through this project, we plan to document the contribution of Muslim population of Edmonton and Alberta to society, economy, science, technology, and others.

We expect the project will have impact in many areas. On the business side, this will be of use to businesses, especially for businesses catering to Muslims, i.e., halal restaurants, groceries, butcher-shops, slaughterhouse, and farms; banks, credit unions, mortgage-brokers for lending money to Muslims; tourism industry, private parks and recreation facilities, etc. It will also be useful to governments of all three levels – municipal, provincial, and federal for appropriate regulatory measures and policy formulations.

Methods:

This project extensively involves collecting data – primary and secondary data, and relevant literature. A set of questions will be developed for primary data and an inventory will be created for gathering secondary data. This will require simultaneous and continuous involvement. Three students will be working independently or in sequence.

Primary data gathering – 60 hours

Primary data tabulating and recording – 20

Secondary data gathering – 40 hours

Secondary data tabulating, manipulating & descriptive analysis – 40 hours

Searching literature and preparing bibliography – 35

Preparing a short review – 45 hours

Qualifications of Student Research Assistants – preferably an advanced senior student in Economics or Statistics with sufficient understanding of (1) primary data collection, (2) data downloading from internet sites, (3) data conversion, manipulation, and processing in Excel, (4) proficient in library search and development of a review paper. Good interpersonal and writing skills are essential.

Dr. Islam will mentor and supervise all students directly. Students will have access to Dr. Islam in various modes of communications (email, phone, video-conferencing, etc.).