Research Assistant

The Department of Mathematical Sciences and Department of Sociology are inviting applications for a Research Assistant to contribute to a range of projects ongoing across the university in the wider field of education, educational, and criminological data science.

The successful applicant will be expected to analyse or re-analyse data resulting from educational and criminological trials. This includes the full pipeline from data cleaning, preparation of analysis, the actual analysis, the preparation of analysis results for presentation in meetings or reports, and further iterative reporting/reviewing steps down the line. The work involves routine statistical analysis techniques including statistical tests and mainstream statistical models including multilevel models (random effect models). The ability to carry out such analyses independently is important, even though the work will generally be carried out under the guidance of a Senior or Lead Statistician. There may also be specific tasks relating to methodological aspects, or the production and maintenance of statistical code (in R and/or Stata), or general tasks associated to the wider projects such as literature reviews. The ability and willingness to communicate quickly and efficiently with team members and collaborators (clinical staff, funders, etc) is particularly important.

The projects underpinning this position are held by the Departments of Mathematical Sciences and Sociology. The successful candidate will be based within and line-managed by a member of staff from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, but for day-to-day purposes they will report to the specific Senior Statisticians or Principal Investigators of the individual projects who may be members of the Departments of Mathematical Sciences, Sociology, or other Departments. It is not expected that the successful candidate would work on more than three projects at any given time.

Responsibilities:

• To carry out statistical analysis in the statistical packages R or STATA.
• To understand and convey information which needs careful explanation to the team or group of people through presentations, discussions and meetings which contribute to the production of research reports and publications.
• To write up results of research work, present information on research progress and outcomes to bodies supervising research in a clear and accurate manner.
• To analyse or undertake basic research by deciding how best to apply existing methodology according to overall context and objectives.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To contribute to the planning of research projects.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• To engage in continuing professional development by attending relevant training and development courses.
• Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role, for example problems relating to “data cleaning”, missing data, or computation, and make recommendations based on your findings.

This post is fixed term from 1^st October 2024 until 31st December, 2025. The position is fixed-term since no funding is available beyond end of 2025.

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