Psycho-Social Ethnography of the Commonplace (P-SEC) Research Group
The P-SEC Research Group is composed of a number of researchers at various stages of their careers. The focus of our research is to investigate the connections between marginalised groups’ life experiences and the organisations that shape their lived realities.
Our members have researched areas such as women working in men-dominated occupations, elderly people living in rural areas, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) soldiers working in the Canadian military, mothers birthing in hospital settings, and single mothers living on social assistance.
We utilise the P-SEC Methodology, which is an interdisciplinary qualitative approach developed by Carmen and Lynne in 2005. It is grounded in feminist standpoint epistemology, institutional ethnography, and schema theory (Gouliquer & Poulin, 2005).
P-SEC News
Participants Needed
We are recruiting currently serving 2SLGBTQIA+ military members and their partners for our research study! Find more information on the study by following the link below:
Psychology Honours Conference 2025
UNB honours student and P-SEC member Kate Larlee presented her honours thesis poster at the UNB Psychology Honours Conference in May 2025. Her thesis focused on the experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals in the Canadian Armed Forces related to military uniforms and associated gear to suggest policy changes. She was co-supervised by Dr Carmen Poulin, Dr Lynne Gouliquer, and PhD student Sophia Konermann.
Capstone Conference
In June 2025, P-SEC Co-Founder Carmen Poulin was Commentator on the Cycles of Reform, Failures of Data: Military Sexual Violence and the Crisis of Analytics in the Canadian Armed Forces at the Canadian Defence and Security Network (CDSN) Capstone Conference.
Also, P-SEC member Sophia Konermann was a panelist and presenter on the Lived Experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadian Armed Forces’ Members: Socio-Cultural Change and Policy Development, at the Capston Conference.
Outstanding Women Award
Dr. Lynne Gouliquer Receives Outstanding Women Award
In celebration of International Women’s week, Laurentian University’s Presidential Advisory Committee honoured the achievements of Dr. Lynne Gouliquer for her active research on the inclusion of women, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Métis peoples.
Three other women were also honoured: Valérie Gauthier-Fortin for her leadership in promoting French-language research and innovation. Gisèle Roberts for encouraging female students to enter STEM fields and in advancing EDI on campus. Bettina Brockerhoff-Macdonald, chair of the Advisory Committee was honoured for her decade-long dedication and contribution to the committee.
CPA Fellowship Status
Over her career as professor, academic and researcher, P-SEC co-founder Carmen Poulin has made distinguished contributions to the science and profession of psychology. In recognition of these exceptional contributions, she was bestowed with the honour of Fellowship status by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) in 2024.
Webinar
As part of a webinar series organised by the Australasian Services Care Network, Lynne & Carmen presented a webinar tilted: Research for change: Examining the history of the LGBT Purge in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Recently Published
Read this article in The Conversation on P-SEC’s past and current research with LGBTQ+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces and LGBTQ+ partners of CAF members!
MT180 Presentation
P-SEC member Sandrine Poulin represented UNB at the 2023 National MT180 Competition. She received the MT180 Atlantic Canada Universities Final Public Choice Award
Sandrine Poulin, membre du groupe P-SEC, a représenté UNB à la finale nationale MT180 2023. Elle a reçu le Prix coup de cœur du public – MT180 (Finale des universités du Canada Atlantique)
Panel Participation
P-SEC Co-founders Lynne Gouliquer and Carmen Poulin participated in the LGBT Purge Panel: History, Human Rights and Using Art to Explore Queer History
Presented by
Queer Heritage Initiative of New Brunswick (QHINB), and Solo Chicken Productions
Article published in Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health
Pictures tell a story: Diversity and inclusion on the National CFMWS website
Award at Laurentian University’s 2nd Annual GSA Graduate Research Symposium
P-SEC alum Brandon Portelance’s presentation, Métis Identity: A Critical Review of the Literature, won 3rd place in the Faculty of Arts!
Photo: Nancy Gouliquer
History of P-SEC
Dr. Carmen Poulin and Dr. Lynne Gouliquer are the cofounders of the P-SEC methodology and research group. They first worked together investigating transition house usage in New Brunswick in the early 90s. Carmen was teaching psychology at the University of New Brunswick and Lynne, a retired soldier with 16 years of service, had started on a second career in sociology.
P-SEC Methodology
The Psycho-Social Ethnography of the Commonplace (P-SEC; Gouliquer & Poulin, 2005) is a feminist qualitative methodology. It was developed to examine the lived experiences of marginalised groups. More specifically, P-SEC allows for the examination of the experience of marginalised groups within particular organisations, whether these are ideological or have a visible material presence.
Our Research
The Purge: LGBT Soldiers and Their Partners
Between 1997 and 2010, we conducted a longitudinal project investigating the experiences of lesbian and gay military members and their partners. Little was known about their stories and experiences, and this research begins to fill this gap in the literature.
2SLGBTQIA+ In The Canadian Military: 25 Years Post Anti-Homosexuality Policy
This study aims to explore what the Canadian Armed Forces is like today for LGBTQIA2S+ soldiers and their families. Do they face discrimination or prejudice in their day to day life? Twenty-five years have passed since CFAO 19-20 was revoked.
Ageing in Rural New Brunswick
The purpose of our study was to examine the care from the perspective of the people receiving it. In this case, we interviewed elderly individuals living in rural New Brunswick. We talked to people from: Cap Pelé, Clair, Connors, Minto, Perth-Andover, Plaster Rock, and Stanley, to name a few.
Life Stories of 90+ Elders
Many believe that soon, we will face serious issues regarding health and care of an aging population (Brink, 2004). In the Canadian population, baby-boomers represent the largest cohort (Statistics Canada, 2007a) and life expectancy has increased.
Women Firefighters
Women constitute a small portion of all the firefighters (approximately 4.4%) in Canada. This is the case whether they are volunteer or career firefighters. Research documenting the unique perspective of this minority of Canadian firefighters is nearly absent in the literature.
Informal Caregivers
The purpose of this research is to examine the experiences of informal caregivers in New Brunswick with a view to contributing to the scholarship in the critical social sciences, and to providing evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice in the province.
Eastern Métis Identity
The histories and identities of Métis are not uniform across Canada (Green, 2011; Rivard, 2017; White & Dyck, 2013), and the histories of the western Métis have been better documented (Andersen, 2014; Friesen & Friesen, 2004; McLean, 1987; Osborne, 2002) than that of the eastern Métis.