Research associates as mentioned above, are professionals who are active members of a research team. Therefore, he or she has a prime responsibility that can affect the entire team. There are various tasks that a research associate has to undertake related to many projects. These projects include providing assistance and planning the collection of data, analysis of the collected data, writing and also disseminating the results of the research.
A research associate has the responsibility of organizing, conducting and planning various researches in fields such as culture, science, history, art etc and using the results in their individual works or projects sponsored by any institution. A research associate is responsible for other aspects such as the development of guidelines for studies, managing projects, outline all procedures and take charge of research.
A research asocial must plan the schedule and assign work to be done by associates. He or she must advise people of the methods to be used. The research must be completed within budget and within the budget allotted for resources. Along with these tasks and duties, a research associate also collects information, analyzes, records and does the evaluation of all acquired facts. After completion of a project, it is the duty of a research associate to prepare of reports for publication in various related journals that are presented to agencies or used in further research.
A research associate's job is about evaluation and therefore, a research associate must be familiar with various methods and techniques used for research. A research associate should have an analytical mind for the analysis of statistics. He or she must be able to make use of qualitative and quantitative methods in research studies. The person must also possess exceptional writing and communications skill, along with critical and analytical skills.
Apart from the above skills, a research associate must have other skills as well. These skills are contributing productivity and ideas and working with the other members of the research team and in assignments without any supervision.
Most research associates must possess a doctoral degree, specializing in fields involving research. The team will determine the specialization of subjects, for example, if the research associate is working in physics then he or she is required to have a PhD degree in physics, and similar research teams.
The average salary of a research associate is usually around $51,000 per year and ranges between $36,000 to approximately $67,000. The salary structure also depends on various factors like the level, of experience as well as abilities and performance. There are research associates who have a salary of over $100,000.
