Research Assistant
About The Position
Do you want to use your empirical research skills to advance individual rights? This is what the Institute for Justice’s Strategic Research team does every day, creating data-driven research used by journalists, lawmakers, advocates, and courts to bring light to government abuse and achieve reform. We are seeking entrepreneurial researchers to join our team at our headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. On our team, the Research Assistant plays a vital role in creating cutting-edge social science and policy work that complements IJ’s litigation and advocacy. The Research Assistant identifies, gathers, and organizes data; manages public record requests; conducts literature reviews; and helps ensure the quality of our work by reviewing data for accuracy and integrity.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree, preferably in the social sciences.
- Proficient with Excel; experience with Stata, R, Python, or SPSS preferred.
- Experience working with quantitative data, preferably in a professional setting, such as: Identifying, downloading, and manipulating datasets from various sources, including census data, crime data, labor statistics, or other government or non-governmental sources. Collecting original data through various methods including public records/FOIA requests, contacting government agencies, web scraping, or systematic review of government documents, statutes, regulations, or legislation. Entering data manually or coding qualitative data. Organizing, merging, and cleaning data in preparation for analysis.
- Capable of identifying and summarizing relevant scholarly and non-scholarly literature to explore potential research ideas or answer specific questions.
- Proficient in generating descriptive statistics; experience with inferential statistics is a plus.
- Self-motivation and ability to work independently on detailed research tasks for long stretches of time, as well as the ability to work collaboratively on a team.
- Dedication to accuracy and meeting deadlines.
- Passion for IJ’s mission of championing individual rights and challenging government abuse.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with Stata, R, Python, or SPSS
- Experience with inferential statistics
Responsibilities
- identifies, gathers, and organizes data
- manages public record requests
- conducts literature reviews
- helps ensure the quality of our work by reviewing data for accuracy and integrity
Benefits
- Hybrid work schedule
- Flexible work hours with our core business hours of 10am and 4pm
- Smart casual dress code; casual Fridays
- Health, Dental, and Vision insurance (IJ covers 100% of individual premiums)
- Free Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Life insurance plans
- HSA employer contributions
- 401(k) with employer matches
- Generous PTO including a paid personal day and 12 paid holidays
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Number of Employees
101-250 employees
