Social Science Researcher

Social Science Researcher

This position is an office-based role in San Marcos, Texas. You will be required to electronically attach a resume, cover letter, and one example of your academic, technical, and/or public policy writing to the application. In your resume and cover letter, please discuss specific experiences that demonstrate the required and, when applicable to your background, preferred qualifications for this role. Occasional travel for data collection, conferences, and/or meetings required.

If selected for an interview, it will be conducted in person. During the interview process, you will be required to independently complete tasks involving writing and the application of knowledge about research methodologies, project design, and/or analytical strategies.

Applicants must specifically address how they meet these required qualifications to meet the requirements of the position.

• Master's Degree in criminology, education, psychology, sociology, public policy, or related field.
• A minimum of three (3) years of professional experience conducting applied social science research or educational research.
• Demonstrated experience designing and applying social science research methodologies.
• Demonstrated experience developing data collection instruments for social sciences (e.g., surveys, interview protocols, or rubrics, etc.), including managing surveys with standard survey software (e.g., Qualtrics).
• Demonstrated experience applying quantitative social science techniques (e.g., regression, ANOVA, etc.) using software packages (e.g., SPSS).
• Demonstrated experience with qualitative analysis techniques and software packages (e.g., NVivo).
• Highly attentive to detail and organization.

Demonstrated experience conducting research directly related to educational environments. Five (5) or more years of professional experience conducting applied social science research or educational research. Documented educational training or research experience related to one or more of the following fields: mental health in school-aged children, youth involvement in school safety, school-based law enforcement, or behavioral threat assessments. Demonstrated experience in technical, public policy, and/or legislative writing (outside of work related to academic degree).

Demonstrated experience with one or more of the following techniques: meta-analysis, advanced statistical sampling, and survey validation. Experience navigating Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes and human subjects protection protocols in educational or community settings. Documented authorship in peer-reviewed journal(s). Documented experience writing grant proposals. Demonstrated knowledge of Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code. Demonstrated experience working with external collaborators and/or research participants on projects not associated with course work.

The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) is an official university-level research center at Texas State University. The TxSSC is tasked in Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code and the Governor's Homeland Security Strategic Plan with key school safety initiatives and mandates. The TxSSC serves as the clearinghouse for the dissemination of safety and security information through research, training, and technical assistance for K-12 schools and junior colleges throughout the state of Texas.

The TxSSC welcomes highly qualified candidates to apply for a Social Science Researcher position in the Research and Evaluation (R&E) Division. The primary responsibility of this position is to conduct scholarly research focused on school safety and security. The R&E Division is currently involved in projects connected to leadership and incident command during emergency situations, security personnel on school campuses, emergency planning for students, gun storage practices, teacher victimization, and school behavioral threat assessment.

The successful candidate will expand the capabilities of the TxSSC and have the unique opportunity to be part of a collaborative team who support each other in project conceptualization, study design, field implementation (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods), analysis, and dissemination of research and evaluation findings to various stakeholder groups. All research and evaluation efforts aim to ensure that schools and communities across Texas are safe, secure, and healthy learning environments.

Design appropriate methodologies to address topics related to school safety and security. Conduct literature reviews on topics related to school safety and security. Design and administer data collection procedures including surveys, focus groups, and interview protocols, as well as other appropriate data collection procedures. Conduct rigorous mixed-methods analysis, synthesizing quantitative survey results with qualitative narrative data. Stay current on innovative social science research methodologies and…