The Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER)The Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex wishes to appoint three talented and ambitious quantitative researchers as Senior Research Officers to provide methodological input to key aspects of the design, implementation and evaluation of the main Understanding Society Study and major enhancements going forward.
Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) is a major household panel survey funded by the Economic and Social Research Council with co-funding from some government departments. It began in 2009 and incorporated its predecessor the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) and together, at wave 1, they included approximately 40,000 households. The study is multi-topic and designed to meet the research needs of a range of disciplines across the social and bio-medical sciences. Data are collected from all household members over the age of 10 annually through a sequential mixed mode design, with a strong web first design.
The 12th wave of the Study has just gone into the field, and we have secured funding for waves 13-15, as well as for further waves of our innovation panel and other significant enhancements. Further information on this can be found in the context section of the job pack.
Duties of the RoleOne post (line managed by Peter Lynn) will focus on evaluating initiatives being developed on the main study and tested experimentally to improve response rates, reduce response bias and push web-first completion of the Study. Additionally, research may include investigating the value of the ring fenced face-to-face comparison sample, targeting mixed mode data collection and evaluation of the implementation of a new boost sample.
The second post (line managed by Michaela Benzeval) will contribute to the design and evaluation of a new pregnancy and early life study. If further funding is secured, this post will also help to develop the design and protocols for participant-led biomarker data collection.
The third post (line managed by Annette Jäckle) will focus on developing and testing new data collection methods, for example using smartphones. All three posts require an understanding of survey methods and statistics, especially as they relate to longitudinal studies, and a commitment to rigorous evaluation so that we both provide the highest quality data from these initiatives and create generalisable learning about survey design.
Post holders will be expected to engage in individual and/or collaborative research activity based on the research goals of the Understanding Society grant, resulting in internationally excellent publications that is in keeping with Research Excellence Framework (REF) criteria.
A full list of duties and responsibilities can be found within the job pack.
Qualifications and Skills requiredApplicants will be expected to hold a relevant doctoral level degree in quantitative social sciences, with a particular emphasis on methods or equivalent professional experience or practice (or be close to completion of PhD).
In addition, it is essential that you possess experience of data management, statistical analysis and programming in Stata, R or similar software package and evidence of understanding (preferably experience) of opportunities and challenges of longitudinal surveys. In addition, you are required to have evidence of a developing research agenda, engagement in high-quality research activity and a developing research profile.
These posts are fixed-term for three years in the first instance.
At the University of Essex, internationalism and diversity is central to who we are and what we do. We are committed to being a cosmopolitan, internationally oriented university that is welcoming to staff and students from all countries, faiths and backgrounds, where you can find the world in one place.
To support this commitment we have our Global Forum, a staff-led network that promotes and celebrates the rich cultural diversity among Essex staff, and our Colchester campus based Faith Centre, which hosts regular services, meetings and events organised by our chaplains and faith representatives. For more information see: https://www.essex.ac.uk/life/student-facilities/religion-and-faith
Please see the attached job pack, which contains 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 email the Resourcing Team (resourcing@essex.ac.uk).
*More information: Working at the University