Dr. Jennifer Vardeman-Winter is looking to hire a graduate research assistant (RA) for Spring 2014 for a research study titled, “Ethics and Health Public Relations.

Length of the project: The project is expected to last from late December until early July.

Work structure and pay: For most pieces of the project, the RA can work from home, according to her/his schedule. The RA will be paid approximately $1,480 for the length of the project. This amounts to ~120 hours over the length of the project.

The RA will be tasked with:

• Assisting Dr. V-W with gathering, analyzing, and writing a literature review of relevant journal articles and current communication materials about ethics in public health/health care (PH/HC) public relations;
• Conducting one-on-one interviews with public relations practitioners (e.g., mostly in person but some may be over Skype) to obtain their perceptions of ethics in their jobs;
• Coding data using a qualitative data analysis software; and
• Writing the final report.

• Send me weekly reports of the status of her/his work;
• Keep a weekly log of her/his time worked on the project;
• Respond to emails about the project within 24 hours; and
• Meet with Dr. V-W when needed (I will work around your class schedule).

• An interest in conducting primary research;
• Have already taken or currently taking either COMM 6300 (Research Methods) or COMM 6305 (Applied Communication Techniques, aka Qualitative Research Methods);
• Excellent written, verbal, and digital media professionalism;
• Ability to meet deadlines and be held accountable for assigned tasks;
• Attention to detail;
• Ability to accept constructive criticism in order to improve skills; and
• Cannot be working more than 15 hours within or outside the university at the same time.

The benefits of working on this project include obtaining real-world experience conducting primary communication research; making connections with public relations practitioners in PH/HC organizations; and writing and publishing research in academic journals. This project is ideal for a student who is interested in either obtaining a Ph.D. and/or getting experience in PH/HC public relations.

If you are interested in applying to this position, please email me at jvardeman@uh.edu with a resume, contact information for two professional and/or academic references, and a sample research paper/project from graduate coursework. The deadline for applications is Friday, December 21, 2013. Please email me with any questions!

Jennifer Vardeman-Winter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Public relations
Affiliate Faculty Member, Women's Studies Program
Jack J. Valenti School of Communication
University of Houston
A Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university
Communication Bldg., Room 142
Phone: (713) 743-4294
Email: jvardeman@uh.edu