The Graduate Statistical Assistant Program
Qualifications and Remuneration
The Graduate Statistical Assistant position is open to doctoral students in departments and schools of the University whose faculty make use of statistical computing in their research and doctoral training. Candidates must have completed one year of graduate coursework, or equivalent, in statistics and quantitative methods (e.g. econometrics, research methods, multivariate statistical analysis, etc.), involving use of one of the major statistical packages (SAS, Stata, SPSS). They should provide a recommendation from one or more faculty members with knowledge of their skills in empirical research. Candidates must serve as a GSA for at least three semesters. ATS hires GSAs in August, with a two-semester appointment, or in January, with a one-semester appointment. Academic-year GSAs are responsible for an average of 12.5 hours per week of on-site support and/or development efforts during the period 15 August through 15 June. Summer GSAs have the same workload for the period 15 May through 15 September. During these periods GSAs may negotiate release time with their supervisors. GSA appointments are renewed on the recommendation of the GSA program coordinator.
Academic-year GSAs in AY2001-2002 receive a taxable stipend of $15,450 per year on the same eight-payment schedule as Graduate Teaching Fellows and Teaching Assistants. They will receive tuition remission for courses approved by their graduate program director. GSAs must carry a full-time course load in their doctoral program. One or more summer GSA positions are likely be available in summer 2002, with a stipend of $3,500 for six person-weeks full time effort.
The GSA Workload
GSAs are responsible for providing on-site, first-tier support for statistical computing and empirical research to a designated set of academic clients: generally, faculty members, advanced graduate students, and research assistants in a group of disciplines. The initial group of GSAs serve the units:
- Social Science departments in McGuinn Hall, including GSSW
- Lynch School of Education and School of Nursing
- Economics and CSOM
GSAs work under the direct supervision of a Faculty Statistical Coordinator (FSC) from the area. GSAs need not be students in the area for which she works. GSAs work closely with second-tier statistical support professionals in Academic Technology Services, as well as with professional staff in the Library having responsibilities for database acquisition and cataloging, and the Technology Consultants in their areas.
A fundamental principle of the GSA program: GSA support should help the researcher find the right tools and datasets, assist with employing those tools on the data, and help resolve difficulties when the tools don't work. GSAs should not write the researcher's program, nor the interpretation of empirical findings.
To facilitate the provision of effective support in this manner, GSAs must acquire certain skills and familiarity in each of the four areas of statistical computing support cited in the GSA Program Objectives. GSAs will interact with FSCs in their areas to produce Web-based documentation to assist clients in:
- Choosing the appropriate software
- Choosing the appropriate computing platform for their analysis
- Locating the machine-readable dataset
- Converting the dataset for use in their chosen environment
- Documenting and archiving their work products
- Answering frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the above.
GSAs will log each on-site interaction with a client in order to assist in expanding relevant Web-based documentation.
Professional Benefits of the GSA Role
This model creates discipline-specific human capital: a GSA in social sciences, for instance, becomes very well acquainted with the particular statistical needs of sociology, psychology and social work, which necessarily differ considerably from those of economists or financial researchers. This discipline-specific knowledge, like that possessed by reference bibliographers in the library system, is naturally more able to meet researchers' needs than that of a generalist consultant.
Although GSAs have overall skills in each area, they naturally develop special talents in one or more of the areas, and consult with each other to provide additional support. GSAs assist their departments' FSCs with the designation of needs for statistical computing, whether hardware- or software-related. GSAs will work closely with each other, and attend regular meetings with the program coordinator, FSCs, and professional counterparts from I/T and the Libraries.
The human capital amassed by GSAs should provide them with solid experience in empirical research, and expose them to a variety of research projects in the process. The knowledge of all details of complex research endeavors, as well as technical knowledge of particular software, operating systems, and datasets, position GSAs well for the completion of their own doctoral studies. This experience should have a significant benefit for the GSA on completion of the doctoral degree, and in seeking academic, private-sector, or governmental positions.
Application to the Program
Boston College doctoral students interested in a GSA position for Fall 2002-Spring 2003 and meeting the qualifications outlined above should contact the program coordinator, Prof. Christopher F Baum, by email. Please address any enquiries about the program to Prof. Baum.
Last revised: 08 Mar 2002 cfb/mjc