Research Assistant

The National Institute of Education invites suitable applications for the position of Research Assistant on a 8-month contract (renewable) at the Office for Research.

Project Title: DRivers, Enablers and pathways of Adolescent developMent in Singapore (DREAMS): The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (SG-LCS) Phase 1 (Project 3).

Project Introduction: This project is part of a bigger study that aims to examine the trajectories of educational pathways in adolescence within the broader context of education in Singapore and how they intersect with adolescent trajectories of aspirations, identity, lifestyle and wellbeing, and social milieu. This study seeks also to understand the nature of secondary students' social and relational contexts, and their development.

Project 3 aims to examine how the students' social relationships change over four or five years in secondary school and how these changes are linked to students' functioning in varied domains. The proposed study also seeks to examine the contextual factors and processes linked to students' peer relationships, such as family and school climate and structures.  For the first year of the Project 3, the main goals are to explore the nature and structure of students' peer relationships and examine how such aspects of peer relationships are associated with the focal outcomes-- academic, motivational, social and emotional-- of secondary students. For the second to fourth year of Project 3, the main goals are to examine the changes in students' peer networks and quality of relationships with key significant others (i.e., peers, parents and teachers), the influence of students' peer networks attributes and quality of key relationships on students' focal outcomes over time (controlling for baseline measures)

Another goal of Project 3 is to explore how schools' structures, programmes, and cultural practices affect the stability and change patterns in students' peer relationships. We also examine the students' lived experiences in their unique social spheres and contexts, how they make sense of and deal with such experiences, how such experiences shape their peer relationships and how peer relationships serve as barriers and enablers of their school adjustment and goal attainment. 

Applicants with interest in doing post-graduate studies, honing their skills in conducting advanced data analysis and publishing research papers are invited to apply. This position is renewable.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Data Science and Analytics, Education, Psychology, Social Sciences); applicants with a Master's degree may be considered for a Research Associate position
• Proficient in quantitative data processing and analysis using SPSS (e.g., regression, ANOVA)
• Experienced in using Qualtrics
• Proficient in academic writing
• Familiarity with R as applied in data analysis
• Good organizational skills and able to work within tight deadlines
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Interest in education and/or educational research
• A strong team player who is also able to work independently and flexibly in a small team

Preferred:

• Applicants with Master's Degree in relevant discipline (e.g. Data Science and Analytics, Education, Psychology, Social Sciences)
• Experience in working with teachers and students in Singapore schools
• Experience in doing longitudinal data analysis
• With evidence of proficiency in academic writing, such as published journal papers and/or book chapters
• Experience in conducting social network analysis
• Proficiency in MPLUS, Python and R

Responsibilities:

• Support data collection and management
• Conduct data processing and data analysis, such as regression analysis, social network analysis, latent profile analysis
• Contribute to the writing of research papers and reports
• Assist in preparing presentations and other administrative duties
• Other duties as assigned by the Principal Investigator

Application

Applicants (external and internal) will apply via Workday. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Closing Date

Closing date for advertisements will be set to 14 calendar days from date of posting.