Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
39 lines (31 loc) · 4.13 KB

RA.md

File metadata and controls

39 lines (31 loc) · 4.13 KB

Table of Contents

Requesting Research Assistance

Research Assistants are integral members of many research projects at the lab. Generally there are 2 processes for having an RA work on your project: hiring a new RA or working with an existing RA already part of the lab. If you have a need for an RA, reach out to the ROM to discuss which process makes sense for your project. Helpful information to send over includes:

  • Project title and scope e.g. What is the project?
  • Clearly defined task(s) for RA e.g. What task(s) will the RA work on?
  • Expected timeline/duration and hourly commitment per week e.g. How long do you expect the task(s) to take?

RA Hiring

  1. Request - Research leads makes request for RA. See section on requesting RA.

New RA

  1. Written Application - Applicants complete the application. If applicant demonstrates interest in lab and has requisite skills on paper, ROM reaches out to schedule a chat/informal interview.
  2. (Optional) Chat - Led by ROM; talk to applicant about their interest in lab and research and their skillset. Answer any questions related to broad project goals. If applicant has genuine interest in lab / research and has needed skills, match applicant with relevant project lead researcher for interview.
  3. Interview - Led by ROM/Researcher; interview can be based on specific technical skills needed for the role (anything from social science coding to app to data analysis), fit with project, or whatever the project lead deems necessary.
  4. Sample Task - A take-home task that is representative of the work the RA would be doing. This is so the RA can gauge if the role is a fit for them (i.e. somehting they want to do during the term when they are busy with academics and clubs) AND so research leads can see how RAs think in a semi-standardized, commensurable activity. They should take 1-3 hours (sometimes coding are 6-8) and should be developed to be completed within 1 week timeframe.
  5. Final Confirmation -Project lead communicates final decision to ROM. ROM creates hiring paperwork (contract + payroll packet) and sends over to applicant, cc'ing the project lead. Send to PEFS when complete. PEFS must input their information into Workday for approval before RA can start work.

Existing RA

  1. Research Lead Approval - ROM approaches other research lead(s) to ask permission if RA already within the lab can work on this project. Research lead says yes/no, provides stipulations (e.g. they must commit to X hours/wk on this project)
  2. RA Approval - ROM approaches RA with new project and stipulations.
  3. Final Confirmation - ROM sends work plan email to both project leads and RA confirming the new project, the expected duration, and the weekly split between tasks.

RA Onboarding

  1. Workday - University has official onboarding in Workday that must be completed. This includes going in-person to verify employment authorization documents.

  2. General Lab - Once that has been completed, ROM can do the following:

    • Invite them to necessary systems, preferably using university address. This includes Slack, Github, and Drive. AWS should be handled by RDE.
    • Meet/Zoom with RA and review onboarding presentation. The goal of this space is to review the org structure and members of lab, explicitly review lab-wide expectations of RAs and clearly outline next steps. Next steps from this can include:
      • Meet with Research Lead to review tasks and schedule work hours/meetings
      • Meet with RDE to review coding style, use of lab resources, AWS set up
      • Visit the lab in-person
      • Complete RA form (not linked for security reasons); includes sending info for website, getting swipe access to building and reflecting on goals

  3. Research Project - Research lead can complete onboarding as they see fit.