CESBC Webinar :

Causality vs. Contribution: How should we evaluate a service dog organization serving Canadian veterans with PTSD? presented by Dr. Linzi Williamson  

WHEN:  Friday, April 22, 2022 from 12 pm to 1 pm Pacific Time

WHERE: CESBC webinars take place online using Zoom platform. You can check your computer's requirements here

COST: Free (long distance charges may apply if you dial in rather than use Zoom app)

LANGUAGE: English

REGISTRATION: Register on Zoom 

Webinar Objective:

To introduce contribution analysis and explore the utility of applying this framework for examining a context and subject matter where determining causality may be challenging to employ.

Webinar Description:  

As the program evaluator for a patient-oriented, community-based participatory project examining the role of service dogs in the lives of Canadian veterans with PTSD, I have been reflecting on criticisms faced by researchers examining the utility of service dogs as modes of complementary treatment for operational stress injuries such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Common criticisms include lack of random assignment, lack of no-treatment control groups, lack of control for confounding variables, and reliance on “subjective” self-reports rather than “objective” measures – all of which reflect a positivist, causal mindset. In this presentation, I will address some of the criticisms related to service dog research within the context of a program/organizational-based setting and examine the potential utility of contribution analysis (CA; Mayne, 2015) for examining this topic.

Who would benefit from the webinar:

• Evaluators with 2+ years experience
• Evaluators who also conduct and publish research
• Individuals interested to learn about service dogs

Relevant Resources:  

• Mayne, J. (2012). Contribution analysis: Coming of age? Evaluation, 18(3), 270-280.
• Williamson, L., Dell, C. A., OsGood, N., Chalmers, D., Lohnes, C., Carleton, N. & Asmundson, G. (2021). Examining changes in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among a sample of Canadian veterans working with service dogs: An exploratory patient-oriented longitudinal study. Journal of Veterans Studies, 7(1), 1-13.

Biography of presenter:

Dr. Linzi Williamson. As a social psychologist, anthrozoologist, and credentialed evaluator, Dr. Linzi Williamson is dedicated to helping people improve their relationships with humans and animals. At present, she is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Sociology at the University of Saskatchewan and Chair of the Canadian Evaluation Society Educational Fund (CESEF). She credits much of her passion and dedication in this area to her beloved Australian Cattle Dog, Steve Irwin, who she adopted in May 2020. linzi.williamson@usask.ca .

If you have any questions, please contact Damien Chen / Reilly Baldwin, CESBC Lower Mainland Coordinators at cesbc.lowermain@gmail.com.