Data Scientist
The University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware
The Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) within the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware conducts rigorous research in education, health care, and human services. Studies of school-based educational interventions, community-driven public health efforts, and efforts to improve healthcare practice are at the center of CRESP’s work. Faculty, research staff, and doctoral students at CRESP share an interest and commitment to collaborative research efforts where practitioners, academic researchers, funders, and policymakers can inform study designs and outcome measures, and mutually benefit from establishing evidence-based practices. CRESP specializes in (a) Randomized controlled field trials, quantitative analyses of large administrative and national databases, longitudinal studies of changes over time that combine data from disparate sources, and (b) Applied policy research investigating public health and educational innovations and interventions, including purposeful use of qualitative methods to promote knowledge of important but difficult to measure characteristics of programs and collaborative partnerships. The Data Scientists, CRESP will have strong experience using a variety of data mining/data analysis methods, using a variety of data tools, building, and implementing models, using/creating algorithms, and creating/running simulations. The candidates will have proven ability to drive research processes and connections to policy and practice with their data-based insights. The right candidates will have a passion for discovering solutions hidden in large data sets and working with stakeholders to improve the rigor and relevance of research for informing policy and practice. These Data Scientists, CRESP will each play a key leadership role in project planning, sample recruitment, instrument development, data collection and management, data analyses, and production of reports, manuscripts, and grant proposals. The Data Scientists, CRESP will report to the Director of CRESP and will manage postdoctoral researchers as well as graduate students.
- Responsibilities:
• Create systematic frameworks and routines to collect and clean data from federal, state, and local education-related databases.
• Develop, implement, and supervise data collection processes and operations.
• Mine and analyze data from national, state, and local administrative databases to drive optimization and improvement of research processes, analytic techniques, and knowledge mobilization strategies.
• Assess the effectiveness and accuracy of new data sources and data gathering techniques.
• Develop custom data models and algorithms to apply to data sets.
• Use predictive modeling to increase and optimize the relevance of research results for informing state and local policy decisions.
• Incorporate cutting-edge analytic techniques into research designs and proposals for externally funded projects, with a particular focus on federal grants.
• Supervise and mentor CRESP staff who work directly with CRESP-managed databases.
• Transfer data from CRESP’s various partners, ready it for analysis, produce materials, and then effectively communicate the findings to both researchers and practitioners in the field.
• Develop and validate interview and survey instruments related to social sciences and education.
• Conduct statistical analyses of large-scale data sets.
• Participant outreach / sample recruitment for individuals participating in CRESP’s research and evaluation projects.
• Lead authorship of research reports and academic manuscripts.
• Work closely with Project Directors and Project PIs as CRESP’s data and analytics expert.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned. - Qualifications:
• Ph.D. required, in Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Education, Psychology, Public Health, or other Social Science. With a minimum of 5 years’ experience in applied research and program evaluation, 3 years’ experience with common data science toolkits and 3-5 years of experience on collaborative research studies.
• Required proficiency in at least one data analysis platform (e.g., R, SAS, Python, SQL, STATA, SPSS); preference given to candidates with proficiency in multiple platforms.
• Proficiency in advanced statistical techniques (e.g., IRT, HLM, G-theory, Structural Equation Modeling).
• Experience working with large-scale datasets, preferably education-related student-level data.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong mathematics skills.
• Mastery of Microsoft Office.
• Knowledge of communication technology platforms (Zoom, GoToMeeting, Twitter, etc.).
• Strong ethic and commitment to research and evidence-based policy. - PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Experience conducting interviews and focus groups a plus.
• Experience with mixed methods data analysis is a plus.
• Since CRESP and these positions are externally funded through grants and other support, preference will be given to candidates with grant/proposal writing experience.
To Apply: For more information and to apply online visit: https://careers.udel.edu/en-us/listing/. Search for Job ID 496555.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer which encourages applications from minority group members, women, individuals with a disability and veterans. The University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination can be found at http://www.udel.edu/aboutus/legalnotices.html. Employment offers will be conditioned upon successful completion of a criminal background check. A conviction will not necessarily exclude you from employment. The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer with diversity as one of its core values.