Join the Team

The Roper Center is currently seeking a research assistant to support the continued advancement of our world-renowned public opinion archive.

This position will report to the Data Archivist and project leads from the data team and will assist the data team in accurately inputting a variety of polling research results and documents into the Roper Center database and performing basic data cleaning functions, such as normalizing and recoding variables. Duties and responsibilities may vary and will be assigned based on experience, including:
• Perform data entry and data proofing tasks
• Organize work, collect and analyze data, keep records
• Make independent decisions as well as ask for clarification when necessary
• Review online and paper versions of relevant datasets
• Adhere to workflow process already in place
• Ensure that all online documentation is searchable
• Inventory the physical archive and other related tasks as requested
• Enhance datasets with data labels or recodes

Required Qualifications/Skills/Experience:

• Experience with data entry/analysis
• Conscientious attention to detail and accuracy
• Excellent interpersonal skills and independent problem solving abilities
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Basic computer skills
• Experience with a statistical software package such as Stata, SPSS, or R

Preferred experience:
• Prior research experience using data

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University – the world’s largest public opinion data archive – has openings on a regular basis and is always interested in hearing from interested candidates. Inquiries should be emailed to mfr47@cornell.edu.

COMPUTER SCIENCE CO-OP PROGRAM (7672534 in Handshake)

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is looking to add a creative, friendly, and enthusiastic Cornell student with application programming experience to its dynamic software team. Our agile developers work collaboratively on a variety of challenging and innovative projects utilizing a host of modern technologies to help keep us at the forefront of our field. We are a team of dedicated individuals who take pride in our work and in cultivating a supportive culture of professionalism, flexibility, and fun.  Please read the position description and consider applying through the Handshake portal. Information on previous co-op students and projects is available here.

The Fall 2023 co-op’s core responsibilities will be to maintain and build new features in our custom software applications that manage the Roper Center’s core digital archive. Circumstances permitting, the incumbent may also work on additional grant-based projects, and/or other single-purpose projects.

The Roper Center at Cornell University is a member-supported organization with a mission to collect, preserve, and disseminate public opinion data; to serve as a resource to help improve the practice of survey research, and to broaden the understanding of public opinion through the use of survey data in the U.S. and around the world. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Fulfillment of the Co-Op program requirements 

• Two years of undergraduate coursework in Computer Science or a related field

• Experience working in Java and a strong understanding of Object-Oriented concepts

• Experience with relational databases and familiarity with SQL

• Experience building web applications and knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

• Experience with React

• Strong verbal and written communication skills

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Experience with full-stack software development

• Experience with source control

• Experience with R

TERM & COMPENSATION:

Fellowships available per academic year: One

Employment term: Fall semester 8/14/23 - 12/15/23, or, Spring semester January 16, 2024 - May 17, 2024

Full time: typical work week of 40 hours

Hourly rate: $30

Location: Ithaca campus, hybrid, or remote

APPLICATION: 

Applications are submitted via the Handshake portal