Research Associate

at  George Mason University

10001543

Fairfax, VA

Administrative or Professional Faculty

Opening on: Aug 9 2024
Department: OIEP
Classification: Administrative Faculty
Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty
Job Type: Full-Time
Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)
Location: Fairfax, VA
Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible
Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience
Criminal Background Check: Yes

ABOUT THE POSITION:

The Research Associate supports collaborative engagement between the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) and campus partners seeking data and information. The incumbent is expected to perform complex data set construction, analyses, and modeling combining data from multiple internal as well as external sources. The incumbent will also work with units across campus to develop data collection mechanisms, integrate data into cohesive student experience models, and assist in the creation of data visualizations. In addition to extracting, integrating and managing complex data files, the research associate also supports OIEP’s effort in responding to and completing data requests including the completion of multiple external surveys e.g., CDS, College Board, Petersons, THE Times Higher Education, U.S. News, etc.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in related field;
• Demonstrated experience in statistical analysis (e.g., inferential statistics, multivariate statistics) and research design;
• Experience programming in a statistical analysis package (SAS, SPSS, R, or Stata);
• Demonstrated experience working with relational databases to extract and merge data from multiple sources;
• Demonstrated knowledge of statistical analysis (e.g., inferential statistics, multivariate statistics) and research design;
• Demonstrated skills in written and verbal communication with various technical and non- technical audiences;
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with high degree of accuracy and attention to detail; and
• Demonstrated knowledge and skill with Microsoft Office and data management tools, e.g. SAS.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Terminal degree in a related field;
• Full-time professional experience with institutional research/institutional effectiveness (generally two or more years of demonstrated progressive experience);
• Experience programming in SAS; and
• Working knowledge of a visualization tool such as SAS Viya, Tableau, Power BI, or R Shiny.

• Responds to ad-hoc data requests from campus partners in support of their work/function with a focus on co-curricular data support;
• Partners with and advises units across campus, particularly in co-curricular offices, in data collection protocols, data integrations and combining disparate data sources. Ensures data cleanliness, accuracy and reliability for inclusion in advanced statistical modeling and qualitative assessments of the Mason student experience and student success;
• Contributes to the execution of advanced quantitative analyses by preparing, cleaning and merging complex data sets drawn from a variety of institutional systems, e.g. Banner, LMS, Salesforce;
• Extracts, integrates, and manages data files to support Mason’s responses to and completion of external data requests including timely responses to national data collection efforts and surveys (e.g., CDS, College Board, Petersons, THE Times Higher Education, U.S. News, etc.);
• Assists in the creation of data visualizations by supplying data sets and end-user feedback to the data visualization specialist; and
• Performs other related special and ad-hoc duties as assigned.