Undergraduate Research Assistant - Student Service

About IDATA

As part of the Office of the Provost, Institutional Data, Analytics, Assessment (IDA A, pronounced eye-data ) utilizes mixed methodologies to produce well-defined, high-quality data. Broadly, IDA A disseminates institutional insights to the leaders and decision makers at Purdue, while working in collaboration with campus partners.

About the Listening Lab at Purdue University

Housed within IDA A, the Assessment team is home to the Listening Lab at Purdue (Listening Lab). Broadly, the goal of the Listening Lab is to disseminate qualitative findings, offering data-driven insights for policy and programmatic enhancements. The Listening Lab strives to listen, share, and support efforts to improve the Boilermaker experience. At Purdue, the Listening Lab serves as a qualitative hub to develop, test, and implement human-centered research.

• The processes and support that inform decision-making in higher education.
• The leadership and management structures within higher education.
• Best practices within qualitative methodology.
• A role in institutionalizing new practices across Purdue University.
• Insight into the development and administration of a qualitative research lab.
• Training and experience hosting focus groups.

Job Duties

• Dedicate 5 hours of work each week, for 4 weeks - with all working hours being dedicated to regular working hours (Monday – Friday; 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM; remote ) to attend to team and project meetings or similar ‘synchronous’ duties.
• Ensure that all four principles of ensuring reliability and validity of qualitative methods (credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability) are met with high degrees of integrity.
• Assist in the development, testing, and implementation of data collection methodology, such as participant recruitment, focus groups, and interviews.
• Assist with communication and dissemination of the Listening Lab to the broader Purdue community and public.

Required Skills

• Knowledge and experience of human research, with a valid CITI certification (or the ability to complete the CITI certification shortly after your start date).
• The handling of confidential information with discretion. IDATA has a zero-tolerance policy for disclosure of information. Unauthorized disclosure of information will result in immediate termination.
• Experience in qualitative data collection - methodology and/or analysis.
• Experience planning the logistics of and conducting interviews and focus groups.
• Being able to self-motivate through mundane tasks, while consistently providing quality output.
• Successfully self-monitoring while navigating multiple tasks or projects. Being able to identify barriers (e.g., unclear task, approaching a bottleneck) and connect with necessary parties to proactively navigate slowdowns
• Excellent communication skills (written, oral, interpersonal, deliberation, dialog, etc.).
• The ability to work independently, as well as with diverse groups and individuals.
• Excellent professionalism (i.e., arriving to meetings prepared on time, and ready to report out to supervisors or clients).
• Extensive use of Microsoft Office Suite.

Preferred Skills

• Knowledge and/or experience with qualitative methods, analysis (including bracketing, journaling, member checking, thematic coding, etc.) and reporting.
• Knowledge and/or experience with analytical software, such as NVivo 14, Dedoose, or ATLAS.ti
• Knowledge and/or experience with transcription software (e.g., Otter.ai, Teams transcription, Zoom transcription) and transcript cleaning.
• Experience working in a laboratory within a university setting.
• Analyze data from qualitative sources, including content analysis, thematic coding, grounded theory, or natural language processing models (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis).

Employment and Compensation Information

Start Date : Monday, October 19, 2026

End Date : Friday, November 13, 2026

Contract Term : This appointment is expected to extend throughout Friday, November 13th, with the possibility of renewal based on performance. It is preferred that applicants are sophomores, juniors, or seniors.

Compensation : The base salary for this position is $13.62 per hour. This is appointment is for 5 hours per week, extending for 4 weeks. Compensation is funded through Purdue University (i.e. it is contingent upon current or future soft funding [e.g., grants]). For more information on the terms and conditions of employment for graduate student staff please visit this link: https://www.purdue.edu/vpec/policies/human-resources/vif11/

Materials to Submit (all must be included, otherwise the application will be considered incomplete) :

• Please submit a brief letter of interest (1-page, single spaced, connecting your knowledge, skills, and abilities to the information shared above).
• Up-to-date resume or CV, and a document containing a list of 3 professional references (which may include professors and previous supervisors). The list of references must include their name, current job title and place of employment, plus a phone number and email address.
• A copy of your availability, including course schedule (PDF).

Benefits Eligibility

FLSA Status