Institute for Social Research

Staff ISR has a full-time staff as well as faculty affiliates who hold academic appointments. The Institute draws other faculty at the University to act as collaborators and consultants for particular projects. In addition, the Institute employs a large staff of professionally-trained interviewers on a part-time basis. ISR offers an integrated approach to research planning, implementation and management. For each major study, a research team is assembled, matching the skills of staff with the needs of particular projects.
Management and Faculty

Director	Michael Ornstein is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of ISR, where he is responsible for research methodology. Recently he has conducted research on socio-economic differences among ethno-racial groups, occupational and educational mobility in Canada, and gender differences in university pay and promotion.

Associate Director	David Northrup is Director of Survey Research and is responsible for the design and management of major surveys at the Institute. He has over 25 years of experience in questionnaire design and data collection. His research interests include survey methodology, election studies, public policy, and how Canadians explore the past in everyday life. Mr. Northrup holds an MA and he teaches survey research methods at York University.

Manager: Computer Survey Method	Richard Myles is Associate Director of Data Collection. Rick first joined the Institute in 1986 as an interviewer and was appointed to the position of Telephone Lab Supervisor in 1987. In 1988 Rick left ISR to work as a buyer and quality inspector for a Montreal-based importing company and he worked onsite in over 10 countries in South East Asia. In 1989 Rick returned to the Institute and took over responsibility for the Institute's Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) programming. In addition to these duties, Rick is now responsible for supervising the data entry operations of the Institute and is the Institute's representative to the Computer Assisted Survey Methods Consortium at the University of California, Berkeley.

Associate Director	Bryn Greer-Wootten is Professor Emeritus in Environmental Studies and Professor Emeritus of Geography at York University. In 2002 he joined the consulting staff in the Statistical Consulting Service, where he is currently an Associate Coordinator, and in 2004 was appointed an Associate Director in the Institute for Social Research. Professor Greer-Wootten completed his PhD in Geography and Planning at McGill University in 1968. He has taught and carried out research in both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, with particular interests in all aspects of survey research, especially with respect to policy analysis in environmental and social policy areas. Current research projects include work on sustainability indicators, building on earlier ISR projects on perceived Quality of Life [social indicators], and how to incorporate such data into the policy formulation process, and theoretical studies of the relations between nature and society in environmental discourse.

Full-time Staff

Field Staff Manager	Tammy Chi joined York University in 1978, first in the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) area and then in the Student Programs Department. In 1980, she moved to the Computing Services Department and subsequently to the Institute for Social Research (ISR) in 1981, first as Secretary to the Assistant Director, and then as a Project Assistant in the Sampling Department. Soon afterwards, Ms. Chi joined the Institute's Field Department where she now manages ISR's large field staff of supervisors, monitors and interviewers. Ms. Chi was educated at York University, receiving a combined Honours BA degree in Sociology and Psychology.

Data Programmer and Survey Archivist	Chris Clubine-Ito received his BA in Anthropology from the University of Waterloo and his MA in Sociology from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Chris is currently a data programmer and survey archivist at ISR. He is also a PhD candidate (ABD) in Sociology at York University.

Project Manager	Renée Elsbett-Koeppen received her MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Western Ontario. Ms. Elsbett-Koeppen currently manages research projects at the Institute for Social Research, including the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS) study. Prior to joining ISR, Ms. Elsbett-Koeppen's research topics included 'Employment and Arthritis in the Working Age Population' and 'Non-pharmacologic Treatment of Arthritis.'

Systems Maintenance and Computer Surveys	Greg Hanson joined ISR in 1991 as a Technical Consultant. Greg holds an MA in Geography from the University of Windsor. Prior to joining the Institute, he was a Research Assistant with the ARA Group in Toronto and a Project Manager at the Data Bank Research Group at the University of Windsor. Greg implements web-based surveys, maintains web-based services, provides technical support, programs CASES instruments, and manages select projects.

CATI Consultant	Lily Li received her Master of Environmental Studies degree in 1999 in a joint program in Geography through the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. After graduation, Ms. Li worked as a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) coder and statistical analyst at Pollara, Inc. Since joining the Institute in the spring of 2002 as a CATI programmer, Ms. Li has worked on many components of the data collection process, from questionnaire programming and testing, sample setup, maintaining field statistics, to data cleaning and file preparation. She is also responsible for the setup and maintenance of mail-out survey databases.

Data Analyst and Statistical Consultant	Hugh McCague completed a BMath (Honours) in Statistics at the University of Waterloo, and an MA in Statistics and a PhD in Environmental Studies both at York University. He has worked as a statistician in both private and public sectors. He is a Data Analyst at the Institute for Social Research, and a consultant and instructor in ISR’s Statistical Consulting Service. His research and publications have concentrated on applications of mathematics and statistics in the history of art and architecture. He is the Secretary of the Southern Ontario Regional Association of the Statistical Society of Canada and the Southern Ontario Chapter of the American Statistical Association.

Project Manager	Liza Mercier joined ISR in June 2002 as a Project Manager. She has a BSc in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo. Liza's background is in public health, working in the areas of health promotion and education, and most recently in tobacco control and enforcement. In the early 1990s she worked with the Health Behaviour Research Group at the University of Waterloo. Liza is currently working on the Health Care Values study at ISR as well as assisting with several of the Institute's mail surveys.

Statistical Consultant	Mirka Ondrack received her Masters degree in Physics from Masaryk University in the Czech Republic and spent two years studying Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. She has held the position of Programmer/Analyst at ISR since 1971. Ms. Ondrack is currently a consultant with the Statistical Consulting Service and also does custom programming and data analysis. She has been teaching courses on SAS and SPSS since 1981.

Budget Co-ordinator	Josephine Piccone is ISR's Budget Co-ordinator.

Project Manager	John Pollard received his MA in Sociology from York University. He also holds a BA with a concentration in French from the University of Toronto and a BA (Honours) in Sociology from York. Mr. Pollard joined the Institute for Social Research (ISR) in 1986 and he currently manages survey research projects at ISR and consults with faculty, students, staff and external clients on survey research administration and questionnaire design. He has also been involved in qualitative research projects, including focus group studies, for many years and he teaches in this area.

Field Staff

Supervisor	Bill Campbell joined ISR in 2000 as an Interviewer. He was later promoted to the position of Monitor and then Supervisor. His work experience includes working in call centres in the Toronto area, including BBM Bureau of Measurement and CMR. He also has worked in Data Coding and Data Entry at Gallup Poll Canada and at Decima Research. Mr. Campbell has a BA degree in Science and Technology Studies from York University.

Senior Supervisor	Raymond Garrison has been a Senior Supervisor at ISR since January 2003. He holds a Specialized Honours BA (magna cum laude), an MA, and PhD (ABD) in Geography at York University. Mr. Garrison has presented and published several academic papers related to qualitative research methodology, and climate change policy development. In addition, he has designed and implemented questionnaire surveys. Mr. Garrison teaches two courses in ISR's annual Spring Seminar Series: "The Art and Science of Research Interviewing", and "Interpreting Qualitative Data: An Overview".

Recruitment and Training	Korine Kim joined the Institute for Social Research (ISR) in 1993. While pursuing her Honours BA in Philosophy at York University, she worked as a telephone interviewer in the CATI lab, conducted face-to-face interviews, pretested questionnaires, assisted with focus groups, and provided clerical support to the Field Manager. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, Ms. Kim’s role at the Institute expanded when she was promoted to Lab Supervisor. In 2002, Ms. Kim took on the responsibility of recruiting, hiring and training, and she currently staffs ISR’s survey labs from a pool of 160 part-time telephone interviewers.

Senior Supervisor	David Law joined ISR as a Senior Supervisor in September 2002. He has an Honours BA in Political Science from York University. Mr. Law's background is in Market Research and various forms of telephone marketing. In the late 1980s, he worked for Decima Research as a Team Leader, where his interests in research first began. Prior to joining ISR, Mr. Law worked as a Call Centre Supervisor with Consumer Contact for four years.

Supervisor	Mary Lee joined the Institute as a Supervisor in August 2007. She holds a BSc from the University of London, UK. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Lee worked as an Interviewer and Customer Service Representative for Georgeson Shareholder Communications, a subsidiary of Computershare, a company dealing with US mutual fund proxies. She was later promoted to Quality Analyst, and then Supervisor.

Supervisor	Alice Lieu joined the Institute in June 1992. She has an Honours BA in Economics from York University and she speaks French fluently. Ms. Lieu initially worked at ISR as an Interviewer and was later promoted to the positions of Monitor and then Supervisor. Prior to joining ISR, Ms. Lieu worked in the call centre at the Toronto-Dominion Bank and at different call centres in the Toronto area.

Supervisor	Debbie Yuen joined the Institute as a Supervisor in September of 2008. She has an Honours BA in Multidisciplinary Studies from Glendon College, York University. Ms. Yuen's call centre experience entailed work as a Customer Service Representative, then Supervisor, and finally Senior Supervisor at Georgeson Shareholder Communications (now part of Computershare), a proxy solicitation company dealing with mutual fund clients in Canada and the United States.

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