Day in the life
A Day in the Life of a Social Science Research Assistant
What social science research assistants actually do from the start of a shift to the end: the tasks, tools, schedule and realities of the job.
What is a typical day like for a social science research assistant?
Schedule participants. From there, the day usually includes recruit participants, collect data, and enter and clean data. Full-time business hours.
Hour by hour: a typical shift
No two days are identical, but this timeline reflects a realistic day for a social science research assistant working full time.
- Schedule participants.
- Run a lab session.
- Enter survey data.
- Clean the dataset.
- Search the literature.
- Make charts for the PI.
- Update IRB records.
Where social science research assistants work
Research assistants work in universities, research firms and government offices.
Hours and schedule
Full-time business hours.
Tasks you’ll do most often
- Recruit participants
- Collect data
- Enter and clean data
- Run basic analyses
- Review literature
- Help write reports
- Manage study logistics
Tools you’ll use every day
- Qualtrics
- SPSS or R
- Excel
- REDCap
- Zotero
- NVivo
The best and hardest parts of the job
What people like
- Path to grad school
- Research experience
- Interesting topics
- Mentorship
What’s hard
- Modest pay
- Temporary grant positions
- Repetitive data tasks
- Deadline pressure
You’ll likely thrive if…
- I like research
- I’m organized
- I like data
- I might go to grad school
- I’m reliable
- I want mentorship
Not sure? Take the free Social Science Research Assistant fit quiz or the Career Match Quiz.
Staying safe on the job
- Protect participant data
- Follow IRB protocols
- Store data securely
- Report problems to the PI