Associate Researcher

University of Kansas
United States, Kansas, Lawrence
1450 Jayhawk Boulevard (Show on map)
Dec 19, 2024
Position Overview The work of The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) and its centers is guided by one simple principle: improving the lives of children and adults. This is accomplished through academics, research, direct-impact programming, developing healthy environments, community engagement, and more. We provide innovative tools to enhance the capacity of organizations that help children, adults, and communities and we offer support to KU faculty whose research relates to key areas of our mission. More information about AAI can be found at aai.ku.edu. The Center for Research Methods Consultation (CRMC), a tactical center within AAI and The University of Kansas (KU), is seeking an Associate Researcher to support research and evaluation projects. CRMC offers support in research methodology, evaluation, and assessment for grant proposals and funded projects and provide research methodological consultation for faculty, students, staff, researchers, and practitioners at and outside the University of Kansas. More information about CRMC can be found at crmc.ku.edu. The Associate Researcher will assist with research and evaluation designs, instrument and assessment development, selection, validation, and administration, data collection, entry, cleaning, transcribing, coding, and analysis, site visits, proposal preparation, report and manuscript writing, and provide research methodological consultation. The ideal candidate will possess exemplary written communication, oral communication, and organizational skills. The position is grant-funded and is contingent on funding. Some travel is required. This position reports to the CRMC Director. Job Description 65% - The Associate Researcher will complete research and evaluation activities related to the funded projects, including instrument and assessment development, selection, validation, and administration, data collection, interviews, data entry, cleaning, transcribing, coding, and analysis;serve as the lead evaluator, evaluation or research method consultant for a few projects, and the main tasks include: designing research and evaluation methodologies; developing processes to streamline the day-to-day operations of data collection and analyses; developing, selecting, validating, creating, and administering instruments or surveys; collecting different types of data; cleaning, transcribing, coding, analyzing, and interpreting data; overseeing the maintenance, security, and fidelity of the research or evaluation data; acting as the primary liaison of the assigned projects to communicate with project stakeholders. 25% - The Associate Researcher will assist with grant writing; attend site visits, conferences, and other activities required in the assigned projects; serve as the lead author for research and evaluation reports of the assigned projects, which includes the responsibility of integrating research and evaluation findings into a user- friendly format and delivering the material to key project partners in an easy-to-understand format; present research and evaluation findings to project stakeholders and help lead the research and evaluation meetings to engage stakeholders in ongoing conversations about the findings; assist the CRMC Director in translating evaluation findings into manuscripts that can be submitted to peer-reviewed journals; provide research methodological consultations for clients at the CRMC. 5% - The Associate Researcher will supervise graduate research assistants or graduate assistants at the CRMC. 5% -Other duties as assigned by the CRMC Director. Position Requirements Well qualified candidates may be allowed hybrid work. This position will be required to travel to Lawrence and/or other locations. It will require attendance at regularly scheduled meetings, onsite, or through telecommunication platforms. Required Qualifications Master's degree and 3 years of related experience 2 years experience working on program evaluation projects 1 year of experience working with projects or programs focusing on STEM education and literacy programs Previous experience with data collection, data management, and data analysis, as evident through application materials Preferred Qualifications 4 years experience using R, SPSS, Excel, or another tool for statistical analysis 5 years experience of working on research and/or program evaluation projects Experience with mixed methods research or evaluation Experience working with schools Experience working on NSF-funded projects Experience working with complex research and evaluation projects Experience working with large datasets Doctorate degree in Educational Research, Evaluation, Statistics, Data Analytics, Social Work, Psychology, Public Policy, or other evaluation-related fields Additional Candidate Instructions In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position: Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications. Resume List of three (3) professional references Only complete applications will be considered. Application review begins Monday, November 4, 2024 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants are identified. Contact Information to Applicants Haiying Long, hlong@ku.edu Advertised Salary Range Minimum $65,000, commensurate with experience Work Schedule Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm Application Review Begins Monday November 4, 2024 Anticipated Start Date Monday January 20, 2025