Institute for Social and Economic ResearchThe Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex wishes to appoint a talented and ambitious survey methods researcher to work on a research project related to Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Understanding Society is a major longitudinal survey initially covering 40,000 households across the UK and includes an Innovation Panel that is used for methodological development and testing (http://www.understandingsociety.org.uk). The post is based in the survey methods research group at ISER and is part of a research project funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
One of the most promising avenues for empirical social science research involves linking administrative or process generated data with survey data. Administrative data (whether held by government or private entities) are useful on their own, but will be much more useful if we can use surveys to "fill the gaps". Sometimes the gaps will be specific types of information, and sometimes it will be to provide a suitable frame to allow inference to the general population. In the UK, survey data can only be linked to administrative or other process generated data, if survey respondents give informed consent to the linkage. The aims of this project are to examine which factors influence the decision to consent and to develop and experimentally test ways of maximising informed consent, in particular in mixed mode surveys involving web data collection and when consent for linkages to multiple datasets are requested.
The appointment will be made as a Senior Research Officer.
Duties of the RoleThe purpose of this role is provide support for a research project that aims to examine which factors influence the decision of survey respondents to consent to data linkage and to develop and test ways of maximising informed consent.
The successful candidate will collaborate with leading experts in survey methodology to produce and disseminate high quality research. The candidate will contribute to data analysis and writing of manuscripts for publication in academic journals, and could potentially lead on papers related to this work. They will also contribute to the development work for experiments, to monitoring fieldwork, and to preparing and documenting data collected for the project.
Qualifications and Skills requiredThis post is open to applicants with a relevant doctoral level degree in survey methodology or quantitative social science or be close to completion of PhD; or a Master's degree with a track record of academic publications in survey methodology or quantitative social science.
We are seeking an individual with strong quantitative analysis skills and a keen research interest in survey data collection methods. A combination of technical aptitude and good interpersonal skills is required, as is an ability to negotiate and co-ordinate activities with collaborators involved in the project. Computer literacy, including a proficiency with advanced statistical packages, such as Stata or R, excellent written and verbal communication (with a good standard of English) and organisational skills, the ability to work effectively in a team and to deadlines, accuracy and an eye for detail, as well as self-motivation and initiative are all essential qualities required of applicants.
This is a fixed-term post for 18 months or until 31 March 2020, the date on which the research grant ends. Part-time working will be considered at a minimum of 0.8 FTE.
Please note that the University may not be able to issue a Tier 2 Certificate of Sponsorship for this post.
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Please see the further detail link below for a full job description and person specification which outlines the full duties, skills, qualifications and experience needed for this role plus more information relating to the post. We recommend you read this information carefully before making an application. Applications should be made on-line, but if you would like advice or help in making an application, or need information in a different format, please telephone the Resourcing Team (01206 874588 / 873461 / 873521).
*Further detail: Senior Research Officer job pack*More information: Working at the University