Social Sciences Researcher/Predoc -1 year contract - 134423

Under direct guidance of Rady School of Management faculty (Anya Samek), the Social Sciences Researcher applies acquired skills and knowledge of applicable research discipline to support field research projects of small to medium size and intermediate scope and complexity and will be based out of Chicago, IL.

This position assists Rady School of Management with research projects and supports those projects, with data management and analysis support. The research projects have a strong focus on topics in education, health, housing, inequality, and racial, ethnic, and gender disparities. The research also has direct impacts for policy and practice.

The primary responsibilities include cleaning research data, analyzing data and engaging in field research, such as contacting study participants and conducting interviews or reaching out to schools and community organizations to request administrative data, transfer of data from a variety of sources.

The position conducts literature reviews and summarizes current/recent findings available in journal articles, enters research data and information into spreadsheets and systems, may prepare and review data for publication, assists with grant applications, may contribute to writing research progress reports, and performs other general administrative tasks related to the research project.

Projects the Researcher may work on include:

* Evaluating the educational investments that improve health outcomes for children

* Field studies investigating the impact of nudges on physical activity

* General behavioral/experimental economics or behavioral finance topics

* Field studies investigating the impact of nudges on physical activity

* Studies on the role of deception in advice-giving

* Studies on institutional power and economic inequality

* Studies documenting and quantifying the distributional impact of different policies related to housing and voting laws

* Studies investigating possible discrimination and disparities in small business lending

* Studies evaluating the effect of educational investments on health outcomes for children and young adults

* Studies documenting and quantifying the distributional impact of different policies related to (i) housing and (ii) voting along racial and ethnic lines including the distributional impact arising from property tax policy and from the Voting Rights Act.

~Position will be based out of Chicago, IL and will travel to the UC San Diego campus a few times a year.

• The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's or Master's degree, and will be seeking hands-on research experience prior to pursuing further graduate studies in economics, business, finance or a related field.

• Experience or college coursework in research design, data collection and processing, and data analysis.

• Experience with statistical software and analysis (e.g. with Stata, R, Python, Matlab, or Excel).

• Proficient research and analytical skills. Analytical and critical thinking skills to identify causal relationships, and to compile, synthesize, and interpret data and results. Theoretical knowledge to discern and document a pattern of results, and the theoretical knowledge to analyze results and data.

• Experience conducting thorough literature searches; experience locating and evaluating reliable, scholarly source materials.

• Experience with data entry, data collection, and data cleaning.

• Organizational and administrative skills to coordinate and track the many steps and tasks associated with a research project, including hiring student workers, creating simple budgets, learning university procedures, estimating timelines, Meticulous record keeping. Accuracy.

• Working knowledge of research discipline, principles, concepts, analysis and / or operations being conducted at field / remote sites.

• Prioritization and organizational skills. Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines with minimal supervision. Time management skills. Ability to to keep team updated on progress or anticipated barriers to progress.

PREFERRED:

• Interest in obtaining hands-on research experience prior to pursuing further graduate studies in economics, business, finance or a related field.

• Previous education/interest/education in general behavioral/experimental economics or behavioral finance topics (examples among many topics: early education/educational investments that improve health outcomes for children; field studies investigating the impact of behavioral reminders on physical activity; the distributional impact of different policies related to (i) housing and (ii) voting along racial and ethnic lines related to property tax policy and from the Voting Rights Act)

• Job offer is contingent on clear Background Check.

• This is a full-time, 1 year contract appointment.

If employed by the University of California, you will be required to comply with our Policy on Vaccination Programs, which may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

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