Ethnographic Recruiter / Interviewer
The Institute for Community Research has an immediate 12 month full-time opening for an Ethnographic Recruiter / Interviewer at the BA or Masters level to participate in a study of youth social activity situations, drug use including Ecstasy and intimate relationships and practices. The position involves field recruitment and in-depth interviews with MDMA and other drug using young women and men between the ages of 18 and 30 on their relationships, sexual activity and substance use. Written recording of interviews, some transcription coding and group analysis and write up are critical to the position. The candidate will join an ethnographic research team under the overall guidance of Jean J. Schensul, Principal Investigator, and will be supervised by study Coordinator, Elsie Vazquez. The position is subject to available federal funds. ICR offers a culturally and intellectually diverse, community based collaborative research environment with options and support for career advancement.
Specific responsibilities include the following:
- Conduct field recruitment in sites and situations where Greater Hartford youth socialize or can be found, and screen them for participation in the study.
- Recruit and conduct in-depth interviews with youth who use Ecstasy on their social and drug histories, use of ecstasy, intimate relationships and current sexual activity.
- Participate in some transcription and coding of data collected via interviews and field observations.
- Participate in coding, data review and analysis sessions with PI, project coordinator and other members of the research team.
- Contribute to publishing papers and doing presentations on the topic of ecstasy and other social drugs and sexual risk.
- Contribute to the development and writing of grants that focus on substance use prevention among youth and young adults.
Required Qualifications:
Completed B.A., or M.A. experience or equivalent experience in a social science field (sociology, anthropology, social work, public health, family studies).
Some prior experience in field research and community recruitment.
Demonstrated successful experience with the conduct of in-depth interviews with people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Some experience with qualitative data.
Excellent writing ability.
Prior experience in a drug or other behavioral risk related field, position or project desirable.
Computer skills and comfort with learning new computer software necessary.
Essential Job Functions:
Recruit appropriate study participants from field sites
Conduct and record topic specific in-depth and key informant interviews.
Conduct and record study observations in social settings where party drugs may be used.
Code, analyze and write up ethnographic interview and observational data in a timely way using Atlas Ti or comparable software.
Help to develop papers for publication and presentation.
Relate to the multiethnic study target population
Team work in research and preparation for grant writing.
Work Schedule Demands:
35 – 40 hour week minimum dedicated to field research, recording, coding and analysis.
Availability for study team meetings.
Ability to work some nights and weekends in observation and informal interviewing in public social settings.
Meet schedule of production for analysis and paper preparation and participation in additional grant writing activities.
Job Classification: Exempt
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Start Date: Immediate
Send resume and cover letter to:
Director of Human Resources
Institute for Community Research
2 Hartford Square West, Suite 100
Hartford, CT 06106
Closing Date: Position available until filled, priority given to those applications received by May 1, 2009.
The Institute for Community Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer AA/EOE.
Research Associate
The Institute for Community Research (ICR) has an immediate opening for a full time Research Associate with strong quantitative data analysis and statistical expertise to work on multiple NIH funded HIV/AIDS prevention studies. Studies include: 1) a newly funded network study that will have an in-depth assessment of peer recruitment dynamics and respondents’ social networks when Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) is implemented among injection drug users (IDUs). Findings from this study will contribute to better understanding of the RDS referral networks of IDUs, and to improving the performance of RDS statistical models that allow unbiased population estimates for hidden populations at high risk of HIV transmission; 2) an ongoing study to translate a previously developed peer intervention model, Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP), into drug treatment clinic setting; 3) a completed longitudinal study of RAP that was shown to be effective in training active drug users to become “Peer Health Advocates” (PHAs) to promote HIV/hepatitis/STI risk- and harm-reduction among their social networks and broader community members; 4) other completed studies in areas of substance abuse, HIV prevention, and community multi-level intervention. All of the studies have rich social network and spatial data.
The Research Associate will work with the interdisciplinary project teams and is responsible to fulfill the following minimum responsibilities:
- Monitor survey data collection, entry and quality control of the ongoing RDS Recruitment Network Study and RAP-Clinic Translation Study.
- Develop data collection databases and process routine data cleaning and management for the ongoing projects, including survey, social network, and GIS databases.
- Participate in the development and critique of quantitative data collection instruments.
- Organizing regular reports to principal investigators and project research staff on the status of data and data analysis for the ongoing studies.
- Analyze survey and other quantitative data for ongoing study reports and publications of ongoing and past studies.
- Participate in integration of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.
- Joint author of publications related to studies, including as lead author.
- Participate in development and grant writing as appropriate.
- Participate in activities of the ICR including other research activities, staff meetings, committee meetings, conferences, etc.
Qualifications:
Ph.D. in epidemiology, public health, bio-statistics, sociology, geography, psychology, education, or other quantitative social or behavioral science. Masters with equivalent skills and minimum 5 years of experience in related field will also be considered. Qualified candidates should have solid experience working with SPSS or other statistical software, be familiar with basic and advanced statistical method and modeling, and be able to run data cleaning and analysis with general direction and guidance. Candidates with one or more of the following experience and knowledge areas are preferred:
- RDS statistic inference modeling and RDS data analysis
- Social network theory and analysis (including UCINET, Netdraw or other related software skills)
- Spatial data analysis (including related software skills)
- Statistical models and analysis for correlated data, longitudinal data, and missing data (including related software skills)
- Diffusion theory, social learning theory, and other social behavioral theories
- Demonstrated academic journal or research grant writing skills.
The Research Associate must be able to work accurately, effectively, and independently and as part of the team to meet deadlines and be able to prioritize tasks related to his/her own responsibilities to meet goals of the teams. Experience with qualitative data analysis and an interest in combining quantitative and qualitative data analyses is desirable. The Research Associate should also be comfortable working in a community-based setting, across disciplines, and with multiple projects at the same time. Excellent communication skill and team work spirit are required.
ICR is an independent, non-profit community-based research organization located in Hartford, Connecticut, which conducts collaborative research with communities and other partners. Details on the Institute are available at www.incommunityresearch.org.
Salary: $54,000-$57,000; excellent benefits.
Send letter of application and resume to:
Human Resources Office
Institute for Community Research
2 Hartford Square West, Suite 100
146 Wyllys Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5128
Or email: emily.marble@icrweb.org
Closing Date: May 30, 2011 or until filled.
The Institute for Community Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer AA/EOE.
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