UMass Chan PRC is seeking Consultant/Intern to Develop Curriculum on Research Methods

We are looking for someone to contract with us to develop a curriculum on research methods for community partners. If you are interested, please contact us at umwprc@umassmed.edu. Click to download the contract/internship description, which is also posted below.

Title: Research Methods Curriculum Development Contract/Internship
Hours: 20-40 hours per week, up to approximately 210 hours, Spring/Summer 2018

Organizational Overview
UMass Chan Prevention Research Center (UMW-PRC) is part of a network of Prevention Research Centers, funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and located at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. Our Mission is: To promote health and prevent disease and disability by conducting research that addresses pressing community health issues, supporting public health practice and training the next generation of researchers.

Contract/Internship Overview
UMW-PRC is creating a training series on research methods for community research partners.
The goal is to increase capacity of our direct public health and community partners to participate as equal research partners and to implement evidence-based obesity interventions. The training series is designed to: 1) advance community and public health partner knowledge in key areas (research basics, interventions and policies, research methods and disseminating results) to promote greater understanding of research; 2) be implemented within developing or established partnerships; and 3) be tailored to the needs of specific projects. Tasks include conducting focus groups and key informant interviews, designing training materials, and testing them with community members. The work could include drafting a manuscript for publication. The paid contract can be a graduate-level internship associated with the Academic Health Collaborative of Worcester. The UMW-PRC project coordinator will be the immediate supervisor, with oversight from the Academic Health Collaborative Coordinator.

Responsibilities/Duties/Tasks
• Complete Human Subjects Research Training
• Conduct focus groups and key informant interviews with community members
• Create training curriculum that includes:
o Auto-narrated PowerPoint slides with clear learning objectives and case examples;
o Text descriptions for presenters;
o Questions to facilitate group discussion;
o Standard evaluation forms that allow for additional tailored questions; and
o An optional short quiz to evaluate participant understanding of the topic.
• Draft a manuscript for publication

Qualifications
• Working knowledge of research methods (principles, research steps, ethics and the IRB’s, recruitment, retention, fidelity, confounding, clustering, research design, measurement, survey validity, and other research topics)
• Undergraduate degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Community Health, Communications, or related field.
• Enrolled in, or graduated from, a graduate-level program (Master’s or PhD) in Public Health, Epidemiology or related field.
• Experience with community engaged research.
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook a must. Proficiency in Adobe
InDesign, Adobe Photoshop and preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, organizational skills, attention to detail.

To apply, please send a resume to UMWPRC@umassmed.edu