Throughout the past seven years, I have been a researcher of 

sexual assault awareness

I work alongside with Dr. Victoria Dickman-Burnett to study, analyze, and write
about rape culture and girlhood. Below are our published and in-process works along with a fellow peer Trinity Shaya.

Second-Person Arts-Based Action
Research for Group Reflection 

2021

Authors: Victoria L. Dickman-Burnett, Trinity V. Shaya, and Isabelle R. Zalat

This brief report discusses the use of second-person arts-based action research in the context of a participatory research team of one mentor researcher and two undergraduate student researchers studying their own relationship with rape culture through arts-based second-person inquiry. Second-person research approaches offer both the reflection of first-person research and the group discussion of second-person research, adding rich reflexive elements to existing participatory research projects. The arts-based elements enhance these processes with creativity and thoughtfulness.

Mentoring through Inquiry: Youth
Participatory Action Research

2020

Authors: Victoria L. Dickman-Burnett  & Isabelle R. Zalat

This paper discusses mentoring in the context of a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project. YPAR is a research paradigm in which adults and youth share equal responsibility for all phases of the research project. In this context, a Ph.D. candidate researching sexual violence prevention in schools and a high school senior and alumna of the prevention program worked together on a research project relating to program outcomes. This paper discusses the mentorship process from both the perspective of the mentor and mentee to offer lessons learned and advocate for the use of YPAR in the process of mentoring.