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MLIS student and Dal institutional analyst Tyler Lightfoot. (Danny Abriel photos)

Tyler Lightfoot didn鈥檛 plan on becoming a data analyst. A degree in English and Psychology, plus years of working in sales and service, do not necessarily point to a highly technical career.

鈥淚f you had told me five years ago where I would be today, I probably would have laughed in disbelief,鈥� Tyler says. 鈥淏ut when my current position [Institutional Analyst with 鲍鱼tv Analytics] was posted, it immediately interested me.

鈥淭he job description not only fit with my education and service experience, but also my love of learning and finding and producing information. Being able to help produce results from evidence found in data was something that immediately attracted me.鈥�

Finding a new path

Growing up in the small town of Melvern Square in the Annapolis Valley, Tyler thought he might become a firefighter, police officer or even a chef like his mother. It turns out that his self-proclaimed 鈥渙bsession鈥� with reading scientific research journals would become useful.聽 聽

Tyler didn鈥檛 plan on graduate studies either. Until a co-worker who had recently graduated from 鲍鱼tv鈥檚聽Master of Information Management聽(MIM) program encouraged him to apply, he didn鈥檛 believe further education was a possibility for him. He is now completing his second year in the聽Master of Library and Information Studies聽(MLIS) program.

鈥淭he School of Information Management and the Faculty of Management feels like a family. The encouragement and willingness to help, collaborate and bring people together is wonderful. That level of collegiality constantly pushes me to do better.鈥�

He has found a way to link his graduate work to his day job. A conversation with SIM professor Lori McCay-Peet gave Tyler the confidence to apply for a research assistant position with the Consumer Trust and Social License project, helmed by Sylvain Charlebois, Vivian Howard, Tony Walker, Peggy Cunningham, Michelle Adams and Jeffrey Friesen.

Read also:聽Who do you trust? Dal researchers publish Canada's first social license to operate report

The project attempts to answer if Canadians believe that organizations are trustworthy, socially responsible, environmentally sensitive and ethical. In other words: do Canadian organizations have a 鈥淪ocial License to Operate,鈥� or 鈥淪LO鈥�? ? The group recently published the聽Food Retail Sector Consumer Trust Report.

聽鈥淭here are a lot of highlights so far with this project,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first of its kind to look at SLO in multiple sectors, and this research has given me a new perspective on data analysis and survey administration. I want to investigate that further, so I鈥檓 looking forward to writing a paper on this subject as part of a directed reading course. Later, it will hopefully translate into a master鈥檚 thesis proposal, then a PhD.鈥�

Applying his skills

In the meantime, Tyler has also been applying his analytical skills to data collected from the 鈥淚mpact Together鈥� consultation sessions regarding the strategic direction of research across campus.

Not surprisingly, this work fascinates him.

鈥淚t has opened my eyes to the incredible research happening here at 鲍鱼tv that I never would have known about. I am proud to be involved with the future of innovation on campus.鈥�

It seems his success is a surprise only to him. When asked about working with Tyler, Sylvain Charlebois (Dean, Faculty of Management) said: 鈥淭yler is incredibly open-minded, which allows him to learn a great deal. His work on our seminal SLO project received media attention from across the country, a huge accomplishment for a young scholar.鈥�

Tyler鈥檚 journey shows that you should never be afraid to pursue an unfamiliar path or to chase after whatever captivates you.

鈥淭aking the MLIS degree and getting involved with these projects has opened my eyes to the fact that I have a drive and passion for real-world research, and if I can, I鈥檇 like to make a career out of it.鈥�