Research Assistant (Data Collection)

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here .

The Department

Founded in 1952, the Department of Psychology is consistently ranked as one of the very best in the UK with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and student employability. The department is committed to creating and maintaining a research environment that spans the entire breadth of psychology. Currently the department's research falls within three groupings: Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Science, and Quantitative Social Psychology.

The department is extremely well-equipped for research, including facilities for fMRI, TMS, tDCS, EEG/ERP, VR, eye movement tracking, and biophysiological recording. The department also has a motion capture lab for analysis of visuomotor action and experiments in immersive VR, a 'bar' lab for naturalistic studies in health psychology, and setups for psychophysics including an echo-attenuated chamber.

In 2022, the Department received its third Athena SWAN Silver Award recognising our commitment to advancing women's careers in STEM academia and reflecting the supportive and positive environment within the Department.

The successful candidate will join the vibrant Developmental Psychology Group who host regular meetings and activities, as well as have the opportunity to join a host of exciting inter-disciplinary networks in the University such as those supporting early career researchers. The successful candidate will gain opportunities to learn about different research methodologies and technologies utilised by the faculty in the department and adopt best practices to ensure transparency, reproducibility, and replicability.

The role

The 12-month fixed-term Research Assistant (RA) position is available 3 days per week (60% FTE) in the Department of Psychology at Durham University. The successful candidate will join the research project "Developing a culturally fair framework for measuring the development of tool innovation across cultures" led by Dr Bruce Rawlings and funded by UKRI ESRC grant. The project focuses on understanding children's innovation across diverse cultures.

The Project:

Expectations: The successful applicant will mostly participate in observational data collection of children's tool using behaviours in their natural environments, as well as collecting survey data from caregivers. The candidate will also help coordinate team meetings for the project. Standard RA responsibilities and specific requirements are listed in more detail below.

This post is ideal for those who have finished a master's degree and want to gain more work and research experience before pursuing a PhD. This position will prepare the post holder research experience valuable to future independent work aimed toward impactful research with community samples.

The successful candidate's primary responsibility will be to participate in the data collection of children's natural behaviours, as well as interviewing caregivers about children's tool use.

Responsibilities:

• 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.
• Work alongside other Masters and PhD students who are contributing towards the project.
• 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 assist in contributing to support student projects on the use of research methods and equipment.
• 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.

This post is fixed term for 12 months. The funding is available from early 2025 for this fixed term only.

The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by March 2025, but can be sooner.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

- 30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 42 days per year.

- The University closes between Christmas and New Year.

- We offer a generous pension scheme, As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).

- No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.

- There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.

- Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.

- On site nursery is available plus access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16.

- Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).

- The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community

- Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.

- A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.

- If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here .

Durham University is committed to equality diversity, inclusion and values

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It's important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and ...