Research Scholar

Vanderbilt University • Nashville, TN

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Research Scholar in the Department of Special Education will contribute to Project BRiiDGE, an IES-funded research project examining interactions and relationships between teachers and students who exhibit challenging behavior. The Research Scholar will play a central role in the project's methodological, analytic, and scholarly activities, including developing and iteratively refining observational coding manuals and protocols; developing and implementing data management plans; building and maintaining study databases; planning and conducting data analyses; and training and providing ongoing guidance to graduate research assistants in observational coding, scoring, data management, and data entry procedures. The Research Scholar will collaborate closely with the Principal Investigator (PI; Lloyd), Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs), and other project team members to interpret findings and disseminate project results to practitioner and research audiences. The Research Scholar will have opportunities to lead first-authored manuscripts and contribute as a co-author to additional peer-reviewed publications arising from the project. This position offers substantive involvement across multiple phases of the research process, including measurement and methods development, data management and analysis, research team training, and scholarly dissemination. This is a full-time, exempt position (40 hours per week). The anticipated duration of the position is two years, contingent upon the continued availability of funding.

Requirements

• A doctorate in special education, education, psychology, applied behavior analysis, or a closely related discipline is required.
• Demonstrated experience conducting education, behavioral, or social science research.
• Experience collecting, managing, and analyzing quantitative research data.
• Experience with observational measurement or systematic observational data collection.
• Demonstrated ability to learn and apply complex coding protocols with a high degree of accuracy and consistency.
• Strong scholarly writing skills and experience contributing to research manuscripts, reports, conference presentations, or other scholarly products.
• Strong organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple research activities, establish priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and collaboratively within a research team.

Nice To Haves

• BCBA certification or substantive graduate-level training in applied behavior analysis is strongly preferred.
• Experience conducting school-based research involving students with challenging behavior and/or the teachers and staff who support them.
• Experience developing, refining, or implementing observational coding systems, particularly those focused on teacher-student interactions or behavior in school settings.
• Experience training or supporting research assistants in observational coding and establishing or maintaining interobserver agreement.
• Experience developing and implementing research data management procedures and maintaining study databases.
• Experience conducting statistical analyses on observational data sets.
• Experience using statistical software appropriate for quantitative education research.
• A record of scholarly writing or publication related to teacher-student interactions, student behavior, special education, or a closely related area.
• Experience contributing to conference presentations, peer-reviewed manuscripts, grant proposals, or other scholarly products.
• Research experience obtained during doctoral and post-doctoral training may be used to satisfy the experience qualifications described above.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, documentation, and iterative refinement of observational coding manuals and protocols.
• Lead the design, construction, documentation, and maintenance of project databases and associated data management procedures.
• Develop and implement procedures for monitoring data quality and the reliability of observational data.
• Plan and conduct analyses to assess interobserver agreement and reliability of observational measures.
• Plan and conduct statistical analyses addressing the project's primary and exploratory research questions.
• Collaborate with the PI, Co-PIs, and other team members in interpreting and communicating study findings.
• Lead training and ongoing calibration activities for graduate research assistants conducting observational coding.
• Lead research team meetings focused on observational coding, data quality, scoring, data management, and entry of data into project databases.
• Provide ongoing guidance and feedback to graduate research assistants regarding observational coding and data procedures.
• Collaborate with the project coordinator to support effective training, workflow, and communication among graduate research assistants and other project personnel.
• Contribute to the continued development and documentation of efficient, rigorous, and reproducible research procedures.
• Prepare data briefs, reports, and presentations for participating school districts and schools.
• Develop posters, papers, and symposium presentations for practitioner and research conferences.
• Lead the development and submission of first-authored manuscripts examining teacher-student interactions and relationships involving students with challenging behavior.
• Contribute as a co-author to additional peer-reviewed manuscripts arising from Project BRiiDGE.
• Collaborate with the PI, Co-PIs, and other project personnel in interpreting findings and developing scholarly products.
• Contribute to grant proposals and other funding applications, as appropriate.
• Meet weekly with the PI to establish priorities, review progress, address challenges, and plan upcoming project activities.
• Establish and meet agreed-upon timelines for data products, school and district reports, conference submissions, and presentations.
• Establish and meet agreed-upon timelines for the development and submission of peer-reviewed manuscripts.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of coding, data management, and analytic procedures.

Benefits

• Consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree