Job Description:
Assist in data and documentation processing, archival operations, and study preparation
for the National Election Studies (ANES). ANES is a national resource program of survey
research located in the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research;
ANES also serves as the secretariat for the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES),
a cross-national research effort focused on the study of electoral systems in their various
stages and settings. Responsibilities include: conduct complex data and documentation
processing, in the SAS and Microsoft Access software packages in order to create the study
datasets and codebooks; help develop and coordinate dataset parameters throughout all study
phases; propose and implement quality control procedures for data processing operations;
create and maintain various databases and create products as output from those databases
(html-marked up codebooks, frequency tables to be served on the ANES website, etc.); assist
in the review and testing of the survey instruments (computer-assisted interviewing programs);
provide thorough documentation for the data and the data processing operations; serve as a
liaison to members of the ANES research community by responding to requests for routine data
runs and special access datasets; provide technical support to the research community for
questions related to data quality; assist in the development and maintenance of the ANES
archive of studies and study materials (hardcopy and electronic); assist in the creation
of Technical Reports which analyze ANES survey operations and data quality; assist in the
creation of new ANES resources and products; provide other data support services as needed.
NOTE: Position could be filled between 30 - 40 hours per week, depending on candidate's needs.
Necessary Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in a social science or other relevant field or an equivalent combination of
education and experience; at least one year of experience in data processing or archiving of
a complex nature; experience using a major social science data processing software package,
preferably SAS; extensive computing skills in the Windows environment, particularly with
database applications (preferably Microsoft Access); excellent communication skills, both oral
and written, in the English language; attention to detail; strong organizational skills;
excellent interpersonal skills; and the ability to work both as part of a team and individually
while meeting deadlines in a multi-tasking environment.
Desired Qualifications:
Two to three years experience processing complex survey data, including the cleaning and merging
of datasets from multiple sources; knowledge of survey research principles and practices;
knowledge of political science, including the electoral and comparative fields; experience with
data analysis and report writing; extensive knowledge of the SAS and Access computer programs;
knowledge of html; knowledge of respondent confidentiality regulations; experience providing
technical assistance to academic researchers.