Students undertaking a for-credit research assistantship have an opportunity to deepen their research skills, while sustaining a more advanced research project in a specific disciplinary area. Research assistants may earn one unit of academic credit (on a P/NP basis) for the completion of at least 45 hours of work.
To place a call for research assistance during a particular semester, faculty members submit an application to Faculty Support by the deadline communicated to them. If approved, JCU degree-seeking students are notified of the call, and those interested fill in the online Student Research Assistant Application Form, attaching copies of their CV and statement of interest. To be eligible for a for-credit research assistantship, students must be in good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. Students on academic probation cannot apply.
The sponsoring professor determines which eligible students may take on the position (it is possible to have more than one), directly by approving each request generated by the online form.
Following the sponsoring professor’s approval, the student’s request is processed by the relevant offices, and both the professor and the student are notified of the outcome of the application.
Please note that visiting students are not eligible for research assistantships.
Students interested in a for-credit research position should review the calls for research assistance, posted below and communicated to all degree-seeking students via JCU email.
To apply for a specific position, fill in the Student Research Assistant Application Form, and attach a CV and a 1-page statement of interest by the date specified in the form. Please note that no submissions will be processed after this time.
If selected, you will receive a confirmation email from the Registrar’s office and the Center for Career Services will be in touch with you to arrange a meeting. Provided you fulfill all the requirements, your application will then be finalized by the Registrar’s office. You and the sponsoring professor will be notified of the outcome of each step of the process.
For-credit research assistantships cannot be used to fulfill general distribution requirements, or as Major Electives, or towards the fulfillment of Minor requirements; they can only be taken as general electives. Students can take a maximum of three for-credit assistantships within the 120 credit graduation requirement. They must complete at least 90% of their assistantship work by the end of the semester in which they are registered in order to receive a passing grade.
Please note:
Academic field: Business and Management and Gender Studies/Feminist Studies
Research topic: Research project for academic-article publication investigating contemporary consumption-based single gender clubs and societies in Rome, Italy. The project is grounded in previous research in the area of consumer behavior in marketing that investigates groups of socialisation based around consumption activities. In marketing research (consumer behavior, specifically) this field is marked by a significant gap in considering the topic in view of Gender Studies/Feminist theory. The research will be based on secondary data and interviews on location or via other channels. Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The RA will play an integral role in this project by contributing to the in-depth analyses of the field of study. The RA's tasks will involve examining and gathering data about single gender consumption and activity-baed clubs and societies in Rome through mapping the extent of the phenomenon and the changing patterns or membership in terms of gender. In parallel, the RA will conduct a literature review, relevant to the questions of gender in the contexts of club and society membership. The literature review will be grounded in two main theoretical areas of scholarship which are gender studies/studies on the notion of community and its expression in the field of consumer behavior.
Sponsoring professor: Emilio Foxell
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Spring
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Creating a data base of scoeiteis and their characteristics. Conducting a literature review. Conducting interviews. These activities will be guided by me and with instruction on the relevant techniques and methods.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Literature review of the two areas of scholarship and knowledge (gender and consumption community).
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: This process will equip the RA with valuable skills in: reviewing the literature in a broad area applied do a specific field of application. Networking and investigating primary and secondary data. Ethical considerations involved in engaging with private members' organizations and with participants within them. As part of this mentorship, the student will be guided by me in the process of constructing interview schedules and conducting interviews and other methods of qualitative research of an in-depth type. By the end of the research, the RA will have practice of developing and conducting research grounded in the previous literature that seeks to gauge current tendencies on a focused topic of current relevance and in a changing environment. The skills learned will be transferable to other critical research area. In addition, the RA will have learned the skills in identifying gaps in the literature and how to investigate and structure a research project using qualitative, observational and interview-based methods of research.
Academic field: Classical studies and Roman Archaeology
Research topic: Advertising in Ancient Pompeii: Visual Marketing in Food and Drink Outlets.
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The research assistant will help complete an article on the techniques that food and drink outlets advertised their business on the streets of Pompeii. The number of bars in Pompeii is so high that there was roughly one bar per 100 inhabitants, suggesting a high degree of competition. The article is a case study of three bars in three different locations: the research attempts to collect and analyze the visual and architectural elements that were used by their owners to attract and keep customers.
Sponsoring professor: Massimo Betello
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Editorial assistance in the elaboration and review of the text of the article: check for readability and clarity, footnote format, and final bibliography.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Review of the prose and footnotes of the article (excellent writing abilities are necessary). Annotated bibliography of the published works on the topic of the article which will need to be synched with the Zotero database used by the professor.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: By the end of this research position a successful assistant will have become competent at collecting and summarizing information helpful to the publication process, and confident in its ability to create and respect a working schedule. The assistant will have become knowledgeable with the most recent academic works on advertisement in Roman cities, and quite familiar with the most recent archaeological research in Pompeii about food and drinks outlets. The assistant will have become proficient at using the bibliographical software Zotero and the Microsoft 365 apps of JCU.
Academic field: Criminology
Research topic: Mapping contemporary Italian criminology
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Help the professor to build up a database of academic literature in order to map the current state of and trends in Italian criminology.
Sponsoring professor: Isabella Clough Marinaro
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The research assistant would do bibliographical searches in English and Italian and, if necessary, visit libraries and archives in Rome. They would meet with the professor every two weeks to discuss their findings and would build a database to store the key information. A working knowledge of Italian and good IT skills would be a huge advantage.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: The student will have designed and produced the database and will have done at least 2 hours of bibliographical searches per week, as well as meeting with the professor every two weeks to discuss the emerging patterns in the literature.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The student would refine their research, citation and organization skills as well as learning to think critically about scholarly debates in sociology/criminology.
Academic field: Development Economics, Environmental Economics
Research topic: Energy, ecosystems degradation and poverty
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Wood fuel is one of the major sources of energy in rural areas in several countries. In Nigeria, more than 40% of households use wood fuel for cooking (Nigeria GHS, 2019), while in Armenia more than 47% of households reported using wood fuel for heating (Armenia ILCS, 2023). Wood fuel use is considered one of the main sources of deforestation and forest degradation around the world (IPCC,2022). Energy transition to cleaner sources (such as natural gas or electricity) is ongoing, but mostly available in urban areas while, at the same time, gas and energy prices have significantly risen given the current political context in Europe, which
difficults the transition. Moreover, wood fuel use implies the allocation of time for collecting it, which imposes an opportunity cost for household members since they could devote this time to other income-generating activities. This research focuses on the identification of policies directed to alleviate energy constraints to rural households and reduce the use of wood fuel, or promote more sustainable wood fuel sources. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to understand households' decision on the use of wood fuel, given both household and surrounding ecosystem conditions. It also aims at identifying the burden that wood fuel use imposes on natural ecosystems, as well as the value of forests services on wood fuel provision as a reservation good when energy prices rise, as in the latter years. The research will be initially developed in Nigeria and Armenia, but it could be extended to other countries. The research assistant will mostly work with databases from household surveys, as well as macroeconomic information that will be used to calibrate the policy simulations.
Sponsoring professor: Rodrigo Salcedo Du Bois
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Manage household surveys databases (clean, manipulate, build new variables); Manage spatially explicit information (land use/land cover, precipitation, temperature, roads,
population, etc.); Review relevant literature (Development Economics, Environmental Economics); Estimation of indicators using statistics and econometrics (specifically, microeconometrics); Perform simulations of policy scenarios.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Two reports related the use of wood fuel and ecosystems: one report with main descriptive statistics related to the use of wood fuel (one for each country); one report with relevant estimations that explain household's behavior on the use of wood fuel and simulation of policy scenarios (one for each country).
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: This research focuses on energy, ecosystems and poverty in developing countries. The understanding of these topics are key, not only for the design of policies that mitigate the effects of climate change, but also to promote the sustainable use of natural resources and poverty alleviation. Through this assistantship, students will develop not only microdatabases management skills, but also perform econometric estimations applied to policy design. These skills are key for working in academia, think-tanks and international organizations such as the Wold Bank and FAO.
Academic field: Economics
Research topic: The MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Our research aims to examine competitiveness of MENA countries. The MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme is the economic pillar of the wider MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for Development. Its activities are organized around six, mutually-reinforcing work streams:
Since 2005, more than thirty flagship reviews and hundreds of capacity-building events have translated these themes into concrete reforms, from updated FDI laws in Jordan to SME-finance diagnostics across North Africa. The Programme’s reliance on OECD evidence standards makes it an ideal playground for a capstone involving students of econometrics. The research will be developed in co-partnership with the OECD, in particular with the Dr. Raffaele Trapasso, Senior Advisor, MENA Competitiveness Programme - Middle East and Africa Division Global Relations and Co-operation at the OECD.
Sponsoring professor: Sergio Scicchitano
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Data entry, data analysis, assistance in writing policy briefs (under supervision).
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Brief reports about the findings that will be generated.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The student will be involved in data analysis for business, economics, and policy. The student will be involved in writing drafts of empirical academic paper and empirical policy brief.
Academic field: Economics / Data Analytics
Research topic: Economics of entrepreneurship and innovation
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The Research Assistant will support the professor in an ongoing research project in the field of "Economics of entrepreneurship and innovation". Research Assistant’s duties include providing support in researching and systematizing the relevant literature; identifying relevant research questions; collecting data and performing data analysis, providing feedback on preliminary versions of the manuscript; formalizing the manuscript (unifying citations, document formatting, proof-reading).
Sponsoring professor: Prof. Dr. Alina Sorgner
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The research assistant's duties include providing support in various steps of the research process, including researching the relevant academic literature and data sources, collecting data, preparing data for the empirical analysis, identifying an appropriate method of data analysis, interpreting the results of the empirical analysis, providing feedback on preliminary versions of the manuscript. Regular meetings and discussions with the professor are expected.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: The final output will be a written report on the topic of the research project. Alternatively, several narrowly defined deliverables can be submitted.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Student research assistant will acquire in-depth knowledge of a highly relevant and timely topic in the field of economics of entrepreneurship and innovation. Formal skills for writing academic papers as well as organizational skills of an academic will be developed. Due to the reviewing of relevant literature, regular discussions with the professor, analysis of quantitative data, the analytic skills will be developed further.
Academic field: International Business, Business, Marketing, Management
Research topic: CSR in International franchise chains - The case of Italy Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The aim of the research project is to explore the implementation of CSR in franchise chains in France, UK, and Italy. More specifically, the research objectives are to explore how franchisors involve their franchisees in the global CSR activities and standardized/adapted implementation in host countries. Research assistants will be responsible for the conduction of 10-15 qualitative interviews (in total) with franchisors and franchisees in the fast-food sector in Italy. The tasks of the research assistants include among others contacting the Italian franchisees, organizing online interviewees, conduct the interviews, transcribe the interviews. For this project we are looking for 2-3 research assistants. Bi-lingual speakers (Italian, English) is an advantage.
Sponsoring professor: Maria Jell-Ojobor, Alessandro Feri
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected], [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The tasks of the research assistants include among others contacting the Italian franchisees, organizing online interviewees, conduct the interviews, transcribe the interviews.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Knowledge about franchising. Capstone thesis topic. Contacts to franchise companies. Knowledge about qualitative data collection. Organizational skills. Project management skills.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Project Management: Conducting interviews and qualitative study requires meticulous planning, budgeting, and execution, all of which are valuable project management skills. Communication and Collaboration: Coordinating with interviewees develops strong communication and collaboration abilities. Problem-Solving: Conducting interviews often present unexpected challenges. Organizing an interview fosters problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Networking and Career Advancement: Building Relationships: Conducting interviews provides ample opportunities to connect with professionals in the field, potentially leading to valuable mentorship and collaboration opportunities. Career Development: Conducting interviews can be a valuable experience for those looking to move into research, a graduate /post graduate degree, or working in a franchise company, or starting their own business. Enhancing Reputation: Successful collaboration at the research project can enhance an individual's reputation as a competent and organized professional.
Academic field: Neuropsychology
Research topic: Acute brain injury
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Up to 2 research assistants may be accepted for this project. The project concerns patients' experiences in hospital consequent to acute brain injury (stroke). We have access to hundreds of sets of notes, describing patients' symptoms and treatment during their initial stay in hospital. The challenge is that the data are complex and difficult to interpret in a consistent way. The project aims to develop methods to automate that interpretation, using AI. However, to validate such methods, we need the results of human processing of the same data. The research assistant will: (a) support the Professor in a double-blind interpretation process, manually extracting relevant details; (b) producing a pipeline for automated extraction of the same details; and then (c) comparing the two (and adjusting the automated pipeline as needed to minimize the differences between the two sets of results).
Sponsoring professor: Thomas Hope
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The regular duty will be interpreting clinical notes (which will be provided), and extracting the relevant details. Other duties will depend on the student's interests. The most pressing, other duty is to develop an automated pipeline for processing these notes. This is somewhat complicated by the sensitivity of the underlying data: e.g., off-the-shelf tools require the sending of data over the internet, which is not permitted for this project.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: The core of the work is to devise and agree what the relevant output of the processing pipeline should look like, and to process at least some sets of notes according to those guidelines. There are so many available that simply processing those notes in full would be impossible in only 45 hours; the goal is to make a good start.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Interpreting medical records is no simple task on its own, and requires some understanding of the underlying condition(s) being treated, which the professor will provide. Additionally, it requires some grasp of what might be done with the extracted information, and why, which will also be taught as part of the project. The crucial skill, here, is the interpretation of qualitative, inconsistent data in consistent, quantitative terms: this skill is consistently significant in most areas of psychology. Additionally, the student(s) will gain some understanding / experience of the use of advanced AI tools in clinical research.
Academic field: Management
Research topic: Sustainability washing and the severity of consequences for companies
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: This study contributes to the fight against sustainability washing practices (greenwashing and social washing), by providing a complete taxonomy of these practices, and the risks that companies face when they adopt these deceiving practices. The paper is already in a draft form, with significant research on the taxonomy already done. The Research Assistant will support in completing the taxonomy of sustainability washing practices, and researching the consequences of these practices, helping create a scale of severity as found from indications provided by key authorities and previous case studies. A particular focus is will be on practices that trigger administrative or even criminal penalties (e.g. Volkswagen's "Dieselgate" scandal).
Sponsoring professor: Anna Fiorentino
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The RA will support on two fronts: 1) Analyze the most recent literature to update the existing taxonomy of greenwashing and sustainability washing. 2) The other duty is analyze the severity on company reputation of each type of sustainability washing practices, from brand damage to administrative and criminal sanctions for executives. The RA will also complete or create visual tables with the results of the research. The RA will also scout for the most relevant case studies of past violations and their consequences on company reputation and economics.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: The Research assistant will provide the following end products: a) the finalized taxonomy of sustainability washing practices, which is already in good shape and requires a "refresh" to ensure current relevance. 2) An overview of which category of sustainability washing practices create the most serious damage to company reputation, due to visibility of sanctions.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The professor will provide an existing taxonomy and provide students with full guidance on how to incorporate any recent articles to make it fully updated. On the search for severity, the professor will provide guidance on how to conduct research, will support the RA on identifying the most relevant authorities and what they indicate in terms of sanctions for sustainability washing practice.
Academic field: Management/Economics
Research topic: Female Leadership features, impacts and outcomes at both firm and country-level
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Our research aims to examine various dimensions of female leadership, from its impact on performance, innovation, and sustainability to the ways career progression intersects with personal choices, including the decision to become a mother or not, and the changes occurred after these kind of personal choices. In order to do this, we need to gather data from both one-to-one interviews to female CEO and CFO and surveys to various managerial position role held by women.
Sponsoring professor: Sergio Scicchitano
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Conduct interviews with the Professor support, Data entry, data analysis, outcome analysis.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Brief reports about the findings that will be generated.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The student will be involved in data collection (interviews and surveys) analysis for business and economics. The student will be involved also in writing drafts of empirical findings. The research will be developed in co-partnership with the research assistants proposed by Prof. Barbara Sveva Magnanelli.
Academic field: Management
Research topic: Parenthood and leadership - the impact of personal choices on career paths
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: This research aims to examine various dimensions of female leadership and male leadership, from its impact on performance and leadership style to the ways career progression intersects with personal choices, including the decision to become a parent or not, and the changes occurred after these kind of personal choices. In order to do this, we need to gather data from both one-to-one interviews to both male and female CEO and CFO and surveys to various managerial position role hold by women and men.
Sponsoring professor: Barbara Sveva Magnanelli
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Conduct interviews with the Professor support, Data entry, data analysis, outcome analysis.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Brief reports about the findings that will be generated.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The student will be involved in data collection (interviews and surveys) analysis, getting in direct contact with top managers from various industries. The student will also be involved also in writing drafts of empirical findings.
Academic field: Philosophy
Research topic: Philosophy of cybernetics
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Support in polishing a book-length manuscript on the topic.
Sponsoring professor: Brunella Antomarini
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The monograph is based on various articles, published or unpublished, by the professor. The research assistant ought: 1. Reading and arranging the articles to form a comprehensive overall argument; 2. to provide support in updating and organizing the bibliographies 3. to provide the professor with feedback concerning the consistency of the chapters, and 4. to help formalizing the manuscript (unifying citations, checking redundancies).
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: By the end of the semester, the manuscript ought to be ready such that it can be sent out to publishing houses for publication. In this way, formal skills for writing academic texts as well as organizational skills of an academic can be developed.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Close reading and discussing the topics with the professor can develop skills for writing scholarly texts. The work undertaken by the research assistant will be acknowledged appropriately in the publication.
Academic field: Philosophy
Research topic: Ethics, Aesthetics, Politics, Culture and Transhumanism
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Support in polishing a book-length manuscript on Euro-Transhumanism
Sponsoring professor: Stefan Lorenz Sorgner
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 25
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The monograph ought to be realized on the basis of various articles by the professor. Some of then have been published already. The research assistant ought: 1. to support the professor in arranging the articles in a way such that they form a comprehensive overall argument; 2. to provide support in updating the bibliographies of the texts; 3. to provide the professor with feedback concerning the reflections of the text, and 4. to help formalizing the manuscript (unifying citations, checking redundancies in and style of the text).
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: By the end of the semester, the manuscript ought to be ready such that it can be sent out to publishing houses, and such that it can be considered for publication. In this way, formal skills for writing academic texts as well as organizational skills of an academic can be developed.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Due to the close reading of the reflections on various aspects of transhumanism and discussing the topics with the professor, the analytic skills for writing scholarly texts will be developed further. The work undertaken by the research assistant will be acknowledged appropriately in the publication.
Academic field: Political economy
Research topic: The AI oligarchy ecosystem
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The GPT-AI revolution in 2022 has resulted in a large amount of equity investment tied to a large concentration of wealth. Defining and measuring the AI oligarchy will allow us to determine the extend of its power. This, along with the employment and wage distributions that may occur as GPT-AI is used may provide a frame to understand the latitude of government policies and the political economy.
Sponsoring professor: Mary Merva
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The RA will first learn about the AI ecosystem and all of the players in the value chain. Then, we will look at how we can measure this group using financial data of equity investments. We will then explore different empirical measures that we have to invent to see if we can come up with a good, workable measure. We will frame this with the impact of GPT-AI on service and professional workers to understand potential implications. Finally, we will look at the political economy of how government policies act within the tensions of the AI oligarchy and labor.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: 1. Short summary paper of the AI ecosystem from the hardware to the final markets for applications. 2. List of companies in the system and their equity. 3. Review of government policies that would be potential responses to the AI oligarchy. 4. Literature review of how labor may be impacted by AI with empirical documentation of potential trajectories.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: 1. Learn about GPT-AI and all of the players involved from hardware, data management to include data storage centers and their energy use, and potential markets to include health care and government services. 2. Find empirical data and document it (some may be on a Bloomberg terminal but, we can go over that to access data as that is a good data based to know how to use for both economics and political economy. 3. Summarize topics in short written briefs. 4. Document data and present visually. Given GPT-AI is considered a technological revolution, it would be really good to have a thorough understanding of the whole system.
Academic field: Psychology
Research topic: HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination among People Living with HIV
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: This research project, "People Living with HIV in Brazil Stigma Index," which has already completed its data collection phase, was coordinated by the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), where I also work in the graduate program. The project aimed to describe the degree and forms of stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV (PLWHA) across six diverse Brazilian cities. It applied the "People Living with HIV Stigma Index" survey ultimately comparing findings with other locations and countries to advocate for policy and program changes. The research assistant will primarily contribute to the analysis of the collected data, including performing statistical analyses and will collaboratively engage in bibliographic searches and scientific article writing with master's and doctoral psychology students from a network of Brazilian universities.
Sponsoring professor: Angelo Brandelli Costa
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The research assistant will be responsible for actively participating in the analysis of the collected data - central tendency statistics. Furthermore, the assistant will aid in bibliographic searches and in writing scientific articles, in conjunction with master's and doctoral students from the Psychology program, as part of a collaborative network with universities across Brazil.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: Within the 45 hours, the research assistant will have significantly contributed to the data analysis phase, including comparing stigma-related variables across different contexts and considering social markers such as gender, social class, race/color/ethnicity, and sexual orientation/gender identity. The assistant will l have actively participated in bibliographic searches and the initial production of a scientific article.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Participation in this project will offer the research assistant a unique opportunity to deepen their skills in quantitative data analysis, utilizing specialized software. Collaboration with postgraduate students in Psychology and participation in writing scientific articles will enhance their competencies in research, academic writing, and critical thinking, preparing them for future research endeavors and publication.
Academic field: Psychology and Sociology
Research topic: Objectification, Culture, Cognition, Clothing
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: This project aims to deepen our understanding of the phenomenon of objectification — perceiving and treating individuals as objects — by exploring its cultural and religious underpinnings. Previous research has predominantly focused on Western participants and targets, often in contexts emphasizing minimal clothing. This study proposes that objectification is not solely a bottom-up perceptual process but is also influenced by cultural beliefs surrounding women’s clothing choices. We hypothesize that cultural representations of women’s attire, such as the hijab (a Muslim head covering stereotypically associated in Western cultures with a lack of agency), can impact perceptions of agency (i.e., the extent to which a woman’s clothing is seen as a deliberate personal choice). Specifically, we aim to investigate how these representations facilitate objectification processes among Western participants. This research is expected to significantly enhance our understanding of objectification and its cultural dimensions. Furthermore, it will provide valuable insights into the challenges and societal costs associated with the acculturation of Muslim migrants, offering implications for immigration policy and social integration efforts. The research assistant will play a key role in this project, contributing to the design of questionnaires, collecting data, and reporting preliminary findings.
Sponsoring professor: Elisa Puvia
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: The research assistant will regularly engage in various tasks crucial to the project. They will contribute to the development and validation of research tools, such as surveys and questionnaires, ensuring these align with the study’s objectives. A significant part of their role will involve conducting literature reviews to synthesize existing research on objectification, cultural beliefs, and perceived agency, providing a strong theoretical foundation for the project. The assistant will also facilitate data collection by recruiting participants and administering surveys, adhering to the study's ethical and procedural guidelines. Additionally, they will assist with initial data analysis and interpretation, working closely with the faculty supervisor to identify emerging patterns. The assistant will participate in regular meetings to discuss project progress, troubleshoot challenges, and refine research strategies. Finally, they will support the preparation of progress reports and presentations, summarizing findings.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: By the conclusion of the 45-hour assistantship, the research assistant is expected to have achieved several key milestones. They will have prepared a finalized draft of the survey or questionnaire to be used in the study. Depending on the study’s progress, the assistant will have facilitated participant recruitment and ensured that a sufficient number of responses have been collected. They will have compiled and organized the raw data in preparation for more detailed analysis, ensuring its accuracy and consistency. To conclude their work, the assistant will prepare a concise presentation or summary document outlining their contributions and progress, which will be reviewed by the faculty supervisor.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: This research assistantship provides the student with a valuable opportunity to enhance a wide range of research skills while working on a professional academic project. By participating in the design and validation of survey instruments, the student will develop expertise in creating robust research tools, a vital skill in both academic and applied research contexts. Through hands-on involvement in data collection and management, they will gain practical experience in organizing and handling data with precision. The project also offers the chance to engage with cross-cultural research, allowing the student to navigate and address the unique challenges inherent in studying diverse populations and cultural frameworks. Moreover, by conducting literature reviews, the assistant will refine their ability to critically evaluate existing research and integrate these insights into a coherent academic narrative. Collaboration with the faculty supervisor will further expose the student to the professional dynamics of research, potentially leading to co-authorship opportunities or the chance to present findings at academic conferences. These experiences will provide the student with a solid foundation for future academic or professional endeavors in the field.
Academic field: Psychology
Research topic: Science of Creativity
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: The RA will help with different projects aimed at investigating the cognitive and neural bases of creative cognition. The RA might work on different aspects of the research process, from programming experiments to data collection and paper writing. Each RA will be assigned to a project, and it will be the RA responsibility to achieve some specific goals established with the professor to gain the final credit. RAs are required to meet with the professor for weekly lab meeting where they will learn different aspects of conducting research in cognitive science. RA will need to attend lab meetings to gain the final credit. Lab meetings will last 1h or 2h and will be scheduled based on both the professor and the student availability. The applicant must have taken the Science of Creativity and Research Methods classes to be admitted to this position, and preferably be able to commit at least for 2 semesters.
Sponsoring professor: Carola Salvi, Ph.D.
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Going to lab meetings, reading bibliography, data collection, running experiments, and data cleaning.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: The RA will set up goals at the beginning of the semester with the professor. To gain the final credit the RA needs to achieve those goals, and have attended lab meetings and worked for a total of 45 h. RA's hours of work will be tracked.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: The faculty-scientist will mentor the student by providing essential guidance and feedback. This mentorship will enable the student to execute a rigorous methodology and successfully complete the data collection process, consequently enhancing their research skills and understanding of the topic. Students might be given the opportunity to present results at national and international conferences.
Academic field: Social Science, Political Science, Gender Studies
Research topic: Feminist Transformative Justice Initiatives and peace building in Northern Ireland
Brief description of project and research assistant duties: Moving a society from conflict to one based on key transformative justice principles has been on the Northern Irish agenda since the end of the Troubles marked by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. This project examines two efforts at peace building: one, top-down effort introduced by Westminster called the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Act) of 2023 and the other, a Northern Irish government initiative called the Violence Against Women and Girls framework. While these two initiatives seek to end violence in what appears to be different sectors of Northern Irish society, this project looks at them together in order to understand if transformative justice principles are being applied to a more comprehensive idea of peace building in Northern Ireland. We will evaluate some grassroots approaches embodied by the framework asking how communities can adopt more transformative practices to include all ends of the spectrum of violence from the political to the criminal, seeing it as a symptom of broader structural problems that predate the foundation of the state and continue to inform communities today. We will also consider case-study strategies that connect both types of violence in other “post-conflict” situations.
Sponsoring professor: Tara Keenan
Professor’s e-mail address: [email protected]
Semester of assistantship: Fall 2025
Full description of research assistant’s regular duties: Conduct literature reviews Facilitate the scheduling of interviews with community workers and researchers in Northern Ireland and South Africa Attend library workshops on reference management and AI research tools with a view to use them to check references and fill out the project's background literature.
Description of the work to be completed by the end of the research assistant’s 45 hours of work: This work will complement fieldwork completed in Summer 2025 and will contribute to a scholarly article that will be submitted for publication.
Statement addressing how the faculty research will help the student research assistant develop their research skills: Student will learn social science methodology, AI-assisted research skills and ethics, fact-checking, reference management, fieldwork skills, and writing for publication.
