RESEARCH ASSISTANCE AND

COUNSULTING(Guidance)

Research

Assistance

Research Assistance

Research Assistant

A research assistant (in some institutions

referred to as research officer) is a researcher

employed, often on a temporary contract, by

a university or a research institute, for the

purpose of assisting in academic research.

Research Assistance

Research Assistant

Research assistants are an important component to the

research process and particularly to large research

projects conducted at larger organizations such as

universities. Research assistants are particularly integral

at research universities where faculty members are

expected to carry out funded research as part of their

job.

What does a Research Assistant

Do?

Research Assistance

On Academic Discipline The tasks of a research assistant will vary greatly from

one academic discipline to another.

Research Assistance

On General Tasks Many research assistants may assist with general tasks

required in most courses of inquiry. This may include

conducting a search for scholarly literature relevant to the

research project, searching the library, copying articles,

ordering additional articles and books, and formulating a

bibliography. Other general tasks may be related to clerical

and record-keeping for the overall project.

Research Assistance

Research Tasks Depending on the academic field and the particular

principal investigator in charge, a research assistant may

be treated as more of a research associate and expected

to make much more significant contributions to the overall

project in addition to the general tasks. Research

assistants may be tasked with collecting data by planning

and implementing experiments, conducting interviews,

administering surveys, or coordinating focus groups.

Research Assistance Communicating Research Research assistants may be charged with assisting a

researcher with preparing presentations about

research project results for professional, scientific

and academic conferences. Power point slides may

need to be crafted for oral paper presentations, and

posters will need to be created for conference poster

presentations.

Research

Assistance

Examples

Research Assistance

Research Assistance

Research Assistance

Research Assistance

Research Appointments & Paper Consultations

Request a research appointment with a research librarian

who will provide advice on defining your topic, developing

your research strategy, locating and using subject-specific

data sources, and identifying potential research problem

areas. Please include a description of your topic and times

you are available to meet.

Research Assistance

Research Classes Each semester, the Library offers research classes on a

variety of subjects to assist students working on research

papers and assignments for their substantive and clinical

courses, as well as journal work. Library research classes

and training sessions offered by LexisNexis and Westlaw

are all listed in the HLSL Legal Research Training calendar.

Research AssistanceGetting Help with Research Projects

Use Find Resources for locating library materials.

Use Research Guides for identifying recommended

resources on a given topic or an industry, such as

"company research" or "biotechnology industry."

Use Fast Answers for getting answers to specific

research questions such as "where can I find a list of

recent mergers and acquisitions?" or to ask your own

question of library staff.

Research Assistance

Librarians dedicated to subject areas are here to help you with all aspects of the research process, including:

Figuring out research topic ideas Finding background information on your topic Identifying high quality, scholarly resources for your

topic or project Strategizing on how to manage citations

Set up a one-on-one research session with your subject librarian.

Request a research consultation.

Research Assistance Program Our Research Assistance Program (RAP) is

designed to encourage post-publication research that provides new information about the applications and characteristics of our instruments. By making the results of such studies available to the field, you will be contributing to scientific knowledge and sound professional practice.

Research Assistance Program

Research Assistance Program

Research

Consulting

Research Consultant

A research consultant is a specialist that performs

targeted research and provides a final report to the client.

This type of consultant is most commonly found in

scientific, government or engineering services firms. The

need for these types of specialist services is standard in

these industries, as permanent staff are not experts in the

specific areas.

Research Consulting

Research Consulting

Research Consultants Does!

Supporting and working alongside more senior

recruitment consultants, as a Research Consultant you'll

be responsible for collecting, analysing and presenting

data in a variety of formats

Research Consulting

Research Consulting

The Research & Instructional Support (RIS) Department

offers a research consultation service for students,

faculty, and staff. This is an in-depth, customized, one-on-

one meeting with a RIS staff member to discuss possible

information resources and search strategies for class

assignments, papers, presentations, Masters theses, and

doctoral dissertations.

Research Consulting

Library Research Consultations connect

researchers to the information and skills needed

to support research.

 

Research Consultations with subject experts are

tailored to the needs of researchers.

 

Research Consulting

What can you expect from a Research Consultation?

help finding scholarly information related to research topics

strategies for searching specific databases

access to the information identified

assistance with systematic reviews

Research Consultations are available to higher degree

students, postgraduate students, honours students, Faculty

and academic staff.

Research Consulting A few examples of typical research

consultations include:

Undergraduate students

Writing course term papers or honors theses

Sharing citations with other students on a team project

 

Graduate students

Identifying databases and other resources for thesis work

Formulating reference styles for journal article submission

Compiling and managing a personal citation database

Research ConsultingFaculty

Locating resources for research or grant proposals

Integrating a large citation database into manuscript

preparation

Compiling and displaying source materials for a course Web

site

 

Campus administrative and professional staff

Locating sources for statistical data for reports and

presentations

Posting a database of subject references on a Web site

 

THANK YOU