RA opportunity available
The Career Boost On Campus Program provides eligible full-time undergraduate students with hundreds of on-campus paid work experience opportunities each year.
Please note that students may apply for any Fall/Winter/Summer position before applying for Career Boost approval, however job offers are conditional pending the student receiving their approval. Summer approval application opens in February, Fall/Winter approval application opens in August.
Supervisor Information and Contact:
Student Application Materials Required:
· Career Boost Approval Email
(Any job offer before receiving the approval email will be conditional. However you’re more than welcome to apply for the positions before then. Summer approval application opens in February, Fall/Winter approval application opens in August. Please forward the approval email to the supervisor)
· Resume
· Cover Letter
· Transcript
· 2 Reference(s)
Method Of Student Application:
Position Information:
Job Family: Communications,Research and Analytics
Job Title: Research Assistant
Hours per week: 14
Number of Positions: 1
Hourly Rate of Pay: $15.00
Start Date: Sep-08-2020
End Date: Apr-09-2021
Mandatory Training: No
Position supports the following priorities from the Ryerson University Academic Plan:
Increase scholarly, research and creative (SRC) excellence, intensity and impact
Enable greater student engagement and success through exceptional experience
Summary of Host Department:
The Research Assistant (RA) will work in the Cognitive Aging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, at Ryerson University.
For more information about the department, please click https://www.torontomu.ca/psychology/
For more information about the cognitive aging laboratory, please click: https://psychlabs.ryerson.ca/cal/
Position Description:
This RA will primarily assist with participant recruitment and data collection for a research projects examining psychological and cognitive functions of older adults. The specific duties include: preparing testing stimuli and materials, recruiting participants to participate in the research project, data collection (Zoom interview or on-line survey), coding and analysis. The student will also connect with local communities (e.g., library, senior community) for knowledge dissemination. The RA will have opportunities interacting with participants, graduate students, and other faculty members.
The position offers training in hands-on research project administration and community engagement. This experiential learning experience will not only enhance the RA’s understanding of research but also enhance their social, communication, and presentation skills. These skills will greatly benefit his/her current education, future graduate study, and long-term career endeavors. Thus the position aligns well with our Academic Plan.
The RA will report directly to the Lab Director. In addition to the regular meetings, I will be available via e-mail or phone whenever additional supervision is needed. As a crucial part of the training, the RA will attend our regular laboratory meetings and other research talks/workshops offered by the program. If appropriate, the RA will be involved in or even leading academic presentations of the research proposal or findings at these events.
The ideal candidate should have good communication skills and some foundational knowledge in psychology and basic computer skills (Word, Excel, SPSS etc.). The candidate is reliable, responsible, self-motivated and willing to work along with a team.
Competency Development:
Core Competencies:
Communication
- Presents ideas and thoughts effectively in a variety of formal and informal settings
- Communicates in writing effectively to encourage action or generate understanding
- Demonstrates an understanding of appropriate professional communication practices
- Demonstrates effective interpersonal communication, including an ability to communicate in an intercultural context
The RA will be trained to recruit and test participants (young and older) to participate in research projects. The recruitment will occur through phone call or emails. The RA will need to ask a set of screening questions as well to test the eligibility of potential participants. The testing requires the RA to explain the task instruction with great clarity to ensure a thorough understanding of the task requirement. The RA will also have opportunity to attend and present at our regular lab meetings. These activities will greatly enhance the RA's communication skills.
Community Engagement
- Practices proactive and effective outreach to support the development of lasting partnerships
- Responds and relates well to people in all positions of an organisation and/or community
- Able to maintain effective and lasting partnerships with groups and individualsA
The RA will be involved in connecting with the community partners for research participant recruitment and scheduling them for testing and data collection.
Collaboration
- Able to work within a team
- Able to adapt to new/changing situations
- Demonstrates intercultural fluency in working with diverse groups
The RA will be working in a team, collaborating with my graduate students and other RAs. The RA will also be involved in RA assignment and training of other RAs in conducting research project. The RA will be responsible in planning and organizing lab-related activities, such as lab meetings, community research presentations etc. All these activities will enhance the RA’s collaboration within the team.
Role-specific Competencies:
Leadership
- Exercises influence to encourage commitment and action in others
- Builds trust with others through consistency and commitment to task
- Demonstrates an understanding of group dynamics and adapts behaviour accordingly
- Understands the importance of reflection as a means of learning from experience
- Demonstrates respect for others
The RA will be involved in coordination and management of different research projects, together with my graduate students and other RAs to ensure the team work as a group. The RA will also be involved in RA assignment and training of other RAs in conducting research project. The RA will be responsible in planning and organizing lab-related activities, such as lab meetings, community research presentations etc. All these activities will sharpen the RA’s leadership skills.
Personal Management & Responsibility
- Prioritises and manages time effectively in completing tasks
- Demonstrates accountability for actions and decisions
- Able to give and receive constructive feedback, and act on feedback
- Reflects on the impact one’s decisions have on self and others
The RA will be involved in training other RAs and coordinating with other RAs and graduate students on the operation of a research project within a specific timeline. Therefore, RA is expected to be on time on all the assigned tasks and responsible for scheduling, and coordination of the team to ensure smooth progress of the research and successful completion of the project. Through this training, the RA will have opportunities to practice these skills through goal-setting, feedback, action tracking activities offered by this job.
Responsibility Breakdown:
participant recruitment and scheduling - 15%
data collection - 30%
data coding and checking - 20%
knowledge mobilization (presentation) - 15%
Testing material preparation - 10%
community engagement - 10%
Staff Supervision:
Checkpoint meetings throughout the employment
Regular one-on-one meetings
Regular team meetings
Reflection exercises
PerformanceReviews
Skills Required:
Academic:
Good oral communication
Good written communication
Managing Information
Presentation skills
Problem solving and thinking
Personal Management Skills:
Being responsible and accountable
Goal setting
Positive attitude and behaviours
Task initiative
Time management
Teamwork Skills:
Contribute to team goals
Event and project planning
Respect differences
Work well with others
Technical or Software Knowledge Required:
This job involves minimal requirements on technical and software knowledge. The candidate should be experienced with Microsoft Office (e.g., Words and Excel). Some knowledge with SPSS (i.e., Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, a software for data analysis) will be plus, but not mandatory. Training will be provided if appropriate and needed. The student will have the opportunity to improve their computer skills (e.g., Access, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and be exposed to learning SPSS.
We appreciate your interest in this position, however, only the candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
