Research Assistant/Analyst

Description: 

The Moving to Opportunity (MTO) research project is seeking a research assistant/analyst to join the team of investigators conducting the10-year follow-up evaluation of MTO, a major randomized housing mobility experiment sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD).  MTO provided 4,600 low-income families with children living in public housing within some of the nation’s most disadvantaged urban neighborhoods the chance to move to private-market housing within much less distressed communities. For more information about previous MTO research, and coverage of findings in the academic and policy community, please see http://www.mtoresearch.org  The MTO long-term evaluation is a multi-part evaluation that includes comprehensive in-person interviews with over 9,000eligible adults and youth, measurement of height, weight and blood spots, youthmath and reading achievement assessments, neighborhood observations, and an ambitious collection of administrative data on employment, public assistance,arrests and schooling outcomes. 

 

The position will be located at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge,MA, joining a committed team of researchers. The interdisciplinary team of senior investigators is geographically dispersed with members at NBER, Harvard University, the Brookings Institution,University of California at Irvine, and the University of Chicago.  NBER is a nonpartisan organization and the nation's leading nonprofit economic research organization, committed to undertaking unbiased economic research and disseminating the results to public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community. The position reports to senior investigators on the MTO final evaluation team.

 

Responsibilities:

Primary responsibilities include various tasks related to collecting,processing, cleaning, managing, and analyzing data, and general research tasks to assist with preparation of papers and reports, under the direction of senior staff: Providing support for the methodological and results sections of papers and research reports Assisting with preparation, management and programming of survey data Writing memos to the team documenting the processing of the data, assessing the quality of the data, and presenting issues for the team to review



 

Qualifications:

We are seeking an individual with a bachelor or master’s degree in a social science, including statistics, economics, mathematics, public policy, sociology, psychology, computer programming, or a related field, and preferably with some quantitative and technical experience.  Prior experience with SAS or STATA is a plus but not required. Successful candidates should have strong analytic and data management skills, technical writing skills, and a good understanding of quantitative research methods.  Candidates should be well-organized, detail-oriented, and able to work independently.  A two- to three-year time commitment is preferred.

 

To apply: Please send via mail or e-mail a coverletter, résumé, and the name and contact information for at least tworeferences.