Delila Omerbasic

Young Refugee Women’s Authoring Processes through Multimodal Literacy Practices in Translocal Spaces [Dissertation study] (Jan – Sept. 2013)  
This qualitative study was grounded in critical sociocultural theory of literacy that draws on elements of postcolonial feminist theory, postmodern geography, and cultural studies, focusing on language and its use in digital multimodal literacy practices. Specifically, I focused on understanding complex negotiations of identity, agency, and various social dimensions of power in translocal spaces. This study took place at a local refugee community center with nine young teenage women who resettled as refugees to the United States from Thailand.  Data was collected using ethnographic methods, such as participant observation, more than 30 hours of semi-structured in-depth interviews, and gathering of literacy examples and other documents. Methods of analysis included theme, narrative, and multimodal analysis. 

Community resources at a refugee welcome center [pilot study] (Fall 2011 –  Spring 2012)  
This pilot qualitative case study focused on the work of one community center that serves refugee youth by providing opportunities to access educational support and build social networks that support individual and community resiliency. Data was collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with youth and center’s management, and was analyzed using theme analysis. 

Maintaining our Languages: A comparative case study analysis of community language education programs in Salt Lake City (Fall 2010 – Spring 2011)  
[Research Assistant for Dr. Verónica E. Valdez, College of Education, University of Utah]. 
Worked as a member of a research team focusing on better understanding community heritage programs in Salt Lake City, Utah and the ways in which they support heritage language development of K-1 students learning Vietnamese, Spanish, and Korean. Data was collected through participant observation at a Vietnamese language school, interviews with the language teacher, and document collection.  

Who are we as social justice educators: Graduate TA study.  (Fall 2010)
In collaboration with two other graduate teaching assistants, this qualitative study focused on the professional and personal experiences of graduate students who are teacher educators in courses related to social justice education and the existing institutional support systems in place for socializing graduate students interested in a faculty career. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight diverse graduate teaching assistants and analyzed through theme analysis. Preliminary results were presented at the American Educational Research conference in 2012.

Latina/Latino Children’s Physical Health and Academic Achievement Project, Salt Lake City, UT (Fall 2010 – Summer 2011) 
[Research Assistant for Dr. Verónica E. Valdez, College of Education, University of Utah & Dr. Zan Gao, College of Health, Department of Exercise & Sport Science]. 
Supported a mixed-method research team for a study that explored the impact of physical health and exercise on student achievement. I conducted 36 interviews with 18 fourth grade students, transcribed interviews, and performed preliminary qualitative data analysis.

Early childhood Latina/Latino bilingualism and biliteracy project (Summer 2010; Fall 2009)
[Research Assistant for Dr. Verónica E. Valdez, College of Education, University of Utah].
Prepared qualitative data for analysis, including video/audio transcribing using Transana and video editing in iMovie.               

RESEARCH TOOLS

Proficient in Atlas.ti, NVivo, SAS, and Transana.