Become a research assistant
Strategic context | Research assistant talent pool | Research assistant duties | How to get involved
Strategic context
Sydney Nursing School has a vision “to be the premier research intensive faculty of nursing and midwifery nationally”. To support the achievement of its vision, the School has developed a Strategic Framework for Research outlining key initiatives to be achieved across five main clinical areas. This framework aims to guide Sydney Nursing School in its research focus, “to deliver research of the highest quality and impact”* and evidence-based “teaching outcomes that meet the challenges facing health care”.*
Achieving this vision is directly determined by the number of academic staff members who successfully engage in effective research.
Research assistant talent pool
When completing research, academic staff often require the support of research assistants to undertake key research project duties. It is for this reason, Sydney Nursing School would like to establish, and continue to maintain, a talent pool of research assistants who are available, skilled and experienced in research support to assist investigators with their innovative research. The talent pool will also facilitate professional development, knowledge exchange and build capability, as well as be a valuable talent resource investigators can draw on for research assistants with particular exposure to nursing research related projects.
*The University of Sydney (2008) “Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Plan 2008–2011”Research assistant duties
Under the University’s Enterprise Agreement 2009–2012 research assistants are classified as general staff members. Depending on the complexity of the project and the skills and experience of the candidate, research assistants will usually be employed at HEO levels 4, 5 or 6.
The types of duties undertaken by a research assistant may include:
- Recruitment of participants for studies
- Data collection including qualitative (interviews), quantitative (surveys, questionnaires) or delivering an intervention
- Drafting reports
- Analysing data and writing up draft results
- Ethics applications and reporting
- Literature searches and reviews
- Preparing manuscripts for publication
- Assisting with preparation of conference talks/presentations/posters the Chief Investigator or research project team will be attending
- Status reports to the Chief Investigator or research project team
- Attending team meetings
- Assisting with applications for grant funding
- Other general tasks related to the implementation of the research project
How to get involved
If you are a research assistant interested in registering your details for potential research assistant work, please complete the Sydney Nursing School Research Assistant Availability form and email it along with a copy of your resume to David Hopkinson, Research Support Officer. David will register your details in Sydney Nursing School's database and let any academic staff requiring research assistants know you are available.
Please note: Should you be shortlisted for potential work by an academic staff member, you will undergo a competitive recruitment and selection process in line with University policy, including an interview with the chief investigator/and or members of the research project team.
If you are interested in a particular area of nursing research, take a look at the research areas of our academic staff on this website and indicate on your form if there is an area of research you are particularly interested in being involved with, in case this can be accommodated.