Your Research Assistant - Pamela Kuhens

If research...
- uses a flawed design,
- draws from a non-representative sample, or
- collects data that does not lend itself well to rigorous analysis,
then it may well end up in the proverbial circular file.

Your Research Assistant is a social research specialist, with an added but limited capacity to assist hard-science researchers (such as high school student competitors) with statistical testing of data.

Research within the “hard sciences” requires expertise in highly specialized knowledge areas and in the operation of special data collection equipment. Often, analysis in hard-science research is straightforward and almost totally precise.

Social research requires a researcher to be at once a) open to the big picture and b) attuned to the minutest details. The presence of many factors (some of which are not measurable), plus the onus of abiding ethical standards—and obtaining Institutional Research Board (IRB) approval—can make social research complex and challenging. This type of research is often best facilitated with a mixture of creative and standard research designs and methods.

In any worthwhile research, thoughtful planning and careful data collection are the keys to success. Your Research Assistant can work step by step with you so that your project can attain simplicity, clarity, and applicability.

This stepwise process often occurs as a series of answers to questions such as the following:

What are the research questions and hypotheses?
How will they translate into research methods?
What research design(s) can fit the research purposes?
Is it appropriate to collect quantitative or qualitative data (or both)?
What kind of sampling strategy will work best?
How big does the sample have to be?
What are the best methods to collect data?
What does a good survey look like?
What methods can be used to maximize response rate to a survey?
What types of analysis will give the data the most powerful impact?
How should the statistics be run?
What do the statistical results mean?

Hiring Your Research Assistant to assist you on your important research project means gaining a true partner in one of your life's most important endeavors.

Your Research Assistant ...

...knows social research design and methodology intimately
...specializes in survey design and research
...has the skills—and the patience—to delve into the details
...will customize services to your research needs

To find out more about how Your Research Assistant can help you, please get in touch using the Contact Form.