Research Associate III - Department of Psychology

APU is seeking employees who desire to engage in our thriving culture by cultivating community through professional interactions, demonstrating a posture of lifelong learning, and modeling Christ-like character. Working together, employees at APU commit to establishing a university atmosphere that is pleasing to God and edifying to one another.

Embedded in a team of research staff and under the supervision of the Principal Investigator, the Research Associate III is a senior-level researcher who is responsible for planning and leading activities that require a higher level of research and evaluation skills to ensure the successful implementation of multiple contracts and grants in the lab. They can work independently in a group without too much guidance.

This position is fully grant-funded and contingent on grant funding.

Required Education

• Master’s degree in social science research or a closely related field is required.
• Doctoral degree in social science research or a closely related field is preferred.

Required Experience

• Three to five years of experience working on research and evaluation-related projects.
• Three to five years of experience with substance use and mental health-related systems.

Primary Duties/Essential Functions Prepare reports/manuscript proposal preparation and submission

• Assists the PI with the development of grant proposals to secure funding.
• Prepares and writes research manuscripts, including outlines, sections, and preparing other required manuscript material.
• Write and submit required grant progress reports in various grant operating electronic systems.
• Prepares grants and contracts using required formats at APU (Cayuse system), including routing submissions.
• Develops and submits research-related manuscripts aligned to journal requirements.
• Develops data dashboards, manuscripts, newsletters, and presentations for various grant projects using analyzed data from research and evaluation projects, including tables, figures, and other visual analytics.
• Develops PowerPoint presentations using research reviews in response to evaluation of learning objectives of grants.
• Develops scientific presentations reporting on grants and attends conferences for dissemination.

Develop and conduct surveys/interviews for research/evaluation and other data collection activities

• Conducts meta-analytic and systematic literature reviews for projects and organizes a framework/guideline that details specific methodological activities.
• Prepare and train staff on survey and interview tools for data collection with data codebooks and protocols to follow, including off-site participating clinics.
• Prepare and train staff on attrition and follow-up protocols, including field visits, phone calls.
• Prepare and train staff on research recruitment and outreach activities associated with grant requirements and IRB.
• Monitor the implementation of survey and interview protocols by checking data collected to ensure completion of tasks.
• Develop research and evaluation data safety and management protocols associated with maintaining ethical research standards, including confidentiality of research participant data and interactions.

Coordination of research and evaluation activities and information dissemination activities

• Engage in the coordination and management of multiple federal grants and contract projects in conjunction with the PI, other research team, and community partners.
• Responsible for implementing research and evaluation work plans and reports.
• Write up brief reports to summarize the data (including semi-annual and annual progress reports) via data dashboards, project newsletters, and fliers.

Screen and code interviews and other data

• Develop and oversee the implementation of screening protocols for various research and evaluation projects.
• Develop and oversee the implementation of interview protocols for various research and evaluation projects.
• Develop and manage electronic databases for screening and interview research activities.
• Conduct higher-level data management functions to ensure alignment with research protocols, evaluation logic models, and statistical analysis protocols (identifying errors, attrition, and missing data).
• Conduct psychometric testing of all screening and interview tools for projects using advanced statistical methodologies.
• Design and implement qualitative data collection and analysis protocols, including data coding and thematic inference on completed research data.
• Create datasets and codebooks for data analysis and data management.
• Lead staff quality-control meetings and regular project meetings to ensure alignment with milestones and required reporting.

Manage data entry, creation of tracking database, other computer tasks, and coding quality control efforts

• Develop and implement evaluation protocols for all grants.
• Manage project-related evaluation protocols specific to data collection and analysis aspects (e.g., downloading data from project websites, cleaning data, entering data into reporting websites in a timely…