Progressive Employment Research Intern, Scholarly Writing

Summary

The Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, in partnership with the Disability Policy Consortium, conducts research on employment for people with disabilities. The intern will gain hands-on experience in qualitative research and scholarly dissemination while supporting research activities and the preparation of a manuscript for peer-reviewed publication.

Responsibilities

• Assist with outreach and communication efforts to research participants
• Support the planning and implementation of qualitative research activities
• Conduct qualitative data collection activities, such as interviews or focus groups, community conversations as appropriate
• Participate in qualitative data coding, analysis, and interpretation
• Conduct literature reviews and desk reviews to inform research objectives and manuscript development
• Summarize and synthesize research findings from academic and gray literature sources
• Contribute to the drafting, editing, and revision of sections of research manuscripts, reports, and related dissemination products
• Collaborate with research team members and attend project meetings as appropriate
• Maintain human subjects certification (CITI) and follow ethical principles in conducting interviews, focus groups and observations

Skills

• Identify as a person with lived experience of any type of disability
• Strong knowledge of and experience in using a computer. Including using: email, online calendars, the Zoom video conference platform, search engines to gather information, Microsoft applications such as Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams
• Willingness to develop new skills. Skills may include, learning new computer applications, co-facilitating meetings, writing in plain language, doing accessibility checks, creating alt tags, etc
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to review, interpret, and synthesize information from multiple sources
• Willingness to learn about the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the Rehabilitation Act and other federal legislation impacting individuals with disabilities
• Strong interest in contributing to scholarly research and gaining experience with the process of preparing and submitting manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Interest in learning qualitative research methods, data analysis techniques, and research software such as Atlas.ti
• Interest in conducting literature reviews and synthesizing findings from published research
• Interest in academic writing, knowledge translation, and research dissemination activities
• Graduate students, or undergraduate students with a demonstrated interest in research and scholarly writing, are strongly encouraged to apply. This position is particularly well suited for individuals seeking to develop a scholarly presence and gain experience contributing to peer-reviewed research publications

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Identify as a person with lived experience of any type of disability
• Strong knowledge of and experience in using a computer. Including using: email, online calendars, the Zoom video conference platform, search engines to gather information, Microsoft applications such as Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams
• Willingness to develop new skills. Skills may include, learning new computer applications, co-facilitating meetings, writing in plain language, doing accessibility checks, creating alt tags, etc
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to review, interpret, and synthesize information from multiple sources
• Willingness to learn about the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the Rehabilitation Act and other federal legislation impacting individuals with disabilities
• Strong interest in contributing to scholarly research and gaining experience with the process of preparing and submitting manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals

Nice to Haves

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Interest in learning qualitative research methods, data analysis techniques, and research software such as Atlas.ti
• Interest in conducting literature reviews and synthesizing findings from published research
• Interest in academic writing, knowledge translation, and research dissemination activities
• Graduate students, or undergraduate students with a demonstrated interest in research and scholarly writing, are strongly encouraged to apply. This position is particularly well suited for individuals seeking to develop a scholarly presence and gain experience contributing to peer-reviewed research publications

Benefits

• Paid research internship for up to 400 hours during a one-year period.
• Learning opportunities in federally funded research grants, qualitative research methods and analysis, literature review, data synthesis, academic writing, and the research publication process.
• Access to supervision from ICI staff and a mentor from the Disability Policy Consortium.
• Disability-related accommodations, such as assistive technology or sign language interpreters.
• A laptop and necessary software to use for work on this project.
• Remote work arrangement; remote candidates are required to have access to high-speed internet and a quiet work environment.
• Disability-related accommodations in the interview process.