20171129A - A comparative analysis of research methodologies.

The Canada Council for the Arts in financial partnership with the British Columbia Arts Council, the Calgary Arts Development Authority, and the Ontario Arts Council; and in collaboration with a consortium of public arts funders across Canada, wishes to tender the services of an individual consultant(s) or a consulting firm, to do a comprehensive exploration of the existing research on the topic of artists' career paths, their work conditions and incomes. The study has the following objectives:
· To obtain a synthesis and analysis of the different approaches and methodologies in research focused on artists' career, practice and livelihoods undertaken in jurisdictions across Canada, and selected international jurisdictions.
· To gain an understanding of the underlying reasons and motivations behind the common and varied findings.
· To identify best practices and lessons learned in methodologies and approaches.
It is important to emphasize that the goal of this study is not to compare the results and findings of the existing research, but the research methodologies, objectives, variables and data that supported those.  
The results of this study be used by funding agencies and other institutions to draw conclusions that could map to future research, at a regional and local level, respecting the individual needs of their corresponding jurisdictions in Canada, in order to maintain their tailored research approaches while potentially moving towards more intercomparable data sets and results.