Research Assistant Position in Behavioral Science of Ethics and Decision-Making (EXPIRED)

Professors Michelle Meyer and Christopher Chabris are seeking an outstanding beginning researcher for a position as a Research Assistant (RA) at Geisinger. The RA will assist members of the relatively new Meyer-Chabris lab in conducting behavioral science research on decision-making within the contexts of healthcare, ethics, policy, and economics. Co-authorship is possible and expected for RAs who contribute intellectually to projects. Specific research topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Effectiveness and acceptability of behavioral interventions (e.g., “nudges”) to improve decision-making, especially related to health
• How people make welfare-affecting decisions for themselves and for others
• Attitudes about randomized experiments (e.g., A/B testing, cluster randomized trials)
• Beliefs about the boundaries between the moral and commercial domains (i.e., whether “some things should not be for sale”)
• Attitudes toward inequality
• Public understanding of genetic influences on behavior and health
• The comparative effectiveness of different approaches to informed consent in clinical and research settings
• Biases in IRB decision-making

The RA will report to Professors Meyer and Chabris, will interact closely with postdoctoral researchers in the lab and also with other researchers across disciplines at Geisinger, and will be based in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The RA will assist in planning and carrying out web-based experimental surveys, behavioral field studies, and archival research, and in analyzing general patterns of responses as well as individual differences. S/he will conduct tasks such as preparing IRB and other research ethics applications; recruiting study participants; collecting, processing, coding, entering and managing data; reviewing scientific literature; helping to prepare presentations, manuscripts, and grant applications; and other functions in the lab group. We are particularly interested in candidates with strong statistical and/or computational skills.

Required qualifications:

• B.A. or B.S. degree (completed by start of employment) in psychology or another social science, computer science, philosophy, or any other relevant scientific discipline
• Coursework in behavioral science research methods and statistics

• Experience with Microsoft and/or Google business applications

In addition to the required qualifications listed above, the successful candidate will likely possess at least some of the following:

• Experience with statistical software (preferably R, others acceptable)
• Scientific publications or conference posters/presentations
• Experience in interdisciplinary research, working in collaborative teams, and supervising undergraduate research assistants
• Experience with programming, preferably including web programming
• Experience with survey research and survey software (e.g., Qualtrics, Amazon Mechanical Turk, REDCap)
• Experience cleaning and coding data
• Experience drafting IRB applications and research protocols

Duration: This is a one-year position with the expectation of renewal for additional years conditional on performance and funding.

With your application, please include: a brief cover letter explaining your interest in the position in light of your past experience and your professional goals; your C.V./resumé; up to two writing samples (preferably scientific writing); and the names, titles, and contact information for two references. Questions about the position may be sent to [email protected]. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Contact Us:  [email protected]

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