Participate in the study

Research Friends is a mental sketch mapping study that invites Thompson Rivers University’s Master of Education students (enrolled in at least one on-campus course in 2023) to describe and/or draw (in an accessible online questionnaire and/or creative paper field journal) the images and experiences that come to mind about places on campus where they feel invited to belong.

Instructions  
Describe and/or draw what comes to your mind in response to each question about belonging at Thompson Rivers University. Imagine how you would describe it to someone who has never been to TRU before. What details would they need to know to to experience campus through your eyes?   

Optional Practice Question

Please draw and/or describe what comes to your mind, what symbolizes Winter for you? 

• Does winter spark an emotion or feeling for you? For example, the misery of being cold.
• Is there a memory of winter that stands out to you? For example, having to walk through deep snow to get to campus and the feeling of sitting in class with wet boots. 
• What words or images best describe it? For example, use the list below to draw and/or describe the most distinctive elements that stand out to you:

Physical elements 

• Paths (road, sidewalk, trail, pathway, hallway) 
• Portals (entry/exit, gate, door) 
• Places (place names, locations, buildings, rooms, outdoor spaces)
• Shape, colour, pattern, distance  
• Nature (land, trees, sky, sun, water, weather)
• People (gathering, interacting, isolated, moving)
• Signs (street, traffic, advertising) 
• Buildings (roof, doors, windows) 
• Rooms (walls, floor, furniture)  

Sensory experiences 

• Senses (see, smell, taste, hear, touch, feel) 
• Feel (ambience, vibe, climate, energy) 
• Time (of day, season, deadlines, perception) 
• Perspective (familiar, foreign, outside, inside)  
• Tone (positive, neutral, negative)  
• Mood (happy, calm, sad, anxious, overwhelmed)
• Activity (crowded, empty, alive, deserted) 
• Culture (norms, beliefs, rituals, foodways) 
• History, Story (who, what, when, where, why)