Research Assistant, PT

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis • Indianapolis, IN

7h • Onsite

About The Position

The part-time Research Assistant at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis supports the museum’s Experience Development and Family Learning research program. The role helps the museum understand audience preferences, exhibit effectiveness, and the success of educational programs. Working under the direction of the Research and Evaluation Associate and within collaborative teams, the Research Assistant collects data from museum visitors, analyzes datasets, and prepares data summaries and reports.

The museum emphasizes diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, and this role carries out inclusive evaluation studies with the goal of applying knowledge or lived experience of marginalized communities. The position shifts between an office environment and museum exhibits in a fast-paced, intellectually challenging setting.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent, such as a GED.
• At least one year of experience in social science research; academic experience, including coursework, will suffice. Naturalistic observation experience is preferred.
• Strong analytical skills to record appropriate data and perform analyses.
• Basic working knowledge of data management programs such as Excel.
• Ability to multitask and attend to multiple parallel tasks.
• Work with a critical eye toward increasing equity and accessibility for a wide range of external and internal constituents.
• Friendly and warm manner with museum visitors, and comfort approaching visitors for impromptu conversations.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to prepare and present data summaries and concise reports.
• Excellent attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy.
• Flexibility and willingness to work in a fast-paced, intellectually challenging setting, shifting between an office environment and museum exhibits.
• Ability to input detailed data entries and view a computer monitor.
• Ability to stand or sit for at least an hour at a time while concurrently taking detailed notes.
• Ability to listen to and transcribe recorded verbal field notes.
• Ability to communicate effectively with museum visitors and observe interactions and conversations.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working in formal or informal learning environments.
• Experience with SPSS, R, or Stata.
• Fluency in Spanish; qualified applicants who speak fluent Spanish receive special consideration.

Responsibilities

• Collect data for evaluation studies by following detailed instructions, including through naturalistic observations, informal interviews, and survey administration.
• Develop simple study instruments, including observation forms and surveys.
• Set up and use existing technologies for data collection and analysis; code and enter data; and keep databases current and accurate.
• Calculate descriptive statistics and, when appropriate, inferential statistics on datasets.
• Prepare precise summaries of data and evaluation findings, including data visualizations, for memos, reports, and presentations, following departmental guidelines for professional writing, style, tone, and formatting.
• Perform other clerical duties as assigned.
• Carry out inclusive evaluation studies with the goal of applying knowledge or lived experience of marginalized communities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED