Project Assistant - Data Analysis & Project Support

Department Overview: The Department of English Anticipated Start Date: 08/24/2026 Anticipated End Date (If Applicable): 05/07/2027 Remote Work Eligibility Detail: Partially Remote Anticipated Hours Per Week: Minimum: 7 Maximum: 10 Schedule: Up to 10 hours per week during the appointment period (a 25% appointment). The work is largely remote and, for the most part, asynchronous: the analysis and research can fit around your own schedule. The one standing commitment is about 90 minutes per week of meeting and co-working time with Professor Calhoun, usually virtual and scheduled in advance. Any in-person work or meetings will be arranged well ahead of time. Salary/Wage Range/Lump Sum: Minimum: 35.98 Number of Positions: 1 Qualifications: Required ● Enrolled as a UW–Madison graduate student for 2026-27 (eligible to hold a Project Assistantship). ● Experience with qualitative analysis — for example, thematic or content analysis, or coding open-ended responses — ideally with survey or interview data. Preferred ● Familiarity with survey research and platforms such as Qualtrics. ● Comfort with analysis software such as R or SPSS, or comparable tools. ● Some quantitative capability, for mixed-methods work. ● Experience conducting literature reviews or synthesizing scholarship. ● Interest in the humanities, higher education, or public-facing scholarship. ● Experience with administrative support in an academic setting. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities : ● Able to analyze qualitative data and explain what they show. ● Curious about how findings connect to existing research, and comfortable finding and reading relevant scholarship. ● Able to manage tasks and meet deadlines with limited supervision. ● Communicates in writing and in conversation, and checks in proactively. ● Comfortable synthesizing and discussing your work, since the role includes about 90 minutes of live conversation (typically virtual) each week. ● Organized and reliable with materials, files, and logistics. Position Summary/Job Duties: The primary duties are qualitative data analysis and research management. Professor Calhoun has gathered two substantial survey datasets and needs a Project Assistant who can analyze the qualitative material, review relevant literature, and help identify where the data are most relevant and publishable. Administrative support is a secondary part of the job, and duties depend on the person: support tasks are assigned to fit each Project Assistant's individual strengths and interests. Primary duties ● Analyze qualitative survey data — coding open-ended responses, identifying themes, and explaining what the data show. ● Review relevant articles and studies (say, 10–15 on a given topic to start) to see how our findings line up with, or depart from, existing work. ● Help keep research projects organized and moving forward (research administration/research management). Secondary duties (as needed, and matched to your strengths) ● Support scheduling, research logistics, file organization, etc. ● Take ownership of tasks: bring ideas forward, keep projects moving with limited supervision, and make the smaller decisions yourself. ● Facilitate efficient weekly meetings by outlining an agenda, updating action items, and taking careful notes. Physical Demands: This is a largely remote, computer-based position; duties are primarily performed while seated, working at a computer and communicating by video, phone, and email. Occasional lifting or carrying of light materials (up to approximately 10 pounds) may be required in connection with in-person events. Reasonable accommodations are available to support applicants and employees with disabilities. Institutional Statements: Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: UW-Madison is an Equal Employment, Equal Access Employer committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce. Institutional Statement on Diversity: Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background-people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: diversity.wisc.edu Accommodation Statement: If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website: https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/