Improve Data Collection, Analysis, Reporting & Toward "1 Million Served" Goal

Positions available: 1 individual student NOTICE: We are no longer accepting applications for the spring semester. You are welcome to apply if you wish to work in the summer/fall. With the COVID-19 pandemic, funding has been tight and we are spread too thin to stay on top of tracking our existing projects and materials towards a key performance indicator (1 Million Served) that our founder, Dr. Edwards has set. This relates to seeking to educate, inspire, and assist 1 Million or more people. This data is currently very manual to collect as it needs to be sourced from multiple systems and platforms and there is currently no programatical way to integrate this cleanly into a dashboard. A multi-tabular google sheet is currently used for this. This is a good project for a student interested in data science roles where many request some level of coding ability relating to accessing and/or integrating data sets. We’d like the student to assist Dr. Edwards in : 1) updating the sheet initially as a starting point for understanding the different sources of data 2) seeking to identify ways to better automate updating the sheet (scripts? Zapier? use of something other than google sheet for the dashboard + other data analysis methods?) and work on automation in those areas 3) building a better dashboard and method for evaluating the data that will also assist in understanding related financial metrics where applicable to assist in business strategic thinking and decision making related to having more real-time updated data on these metrics. Students will collaborate with Dr. Edwards primarily via Slack, text, and video calls (Jit.si, Google Meet, and/or Zoom may be used - we will provide the link). Students need to be self-motivated and are required to practice professional behaviors and soft skills such as communication, time management, and teamwork in the following ways: 1) to touch base 1-2 times per week via Slack with Dr. Edwards to provide status updates on work, if stuck, on what. Providing screenshots is very helpful. 2) if stuck or needing clarification, to be willing to notify Dr. Edwards as soon as possible. If a live call is needed, student will work with her assistant to schedule a live call to resolve in a timely manner. 3) students are required to document their work effort on any day worked so that a future team member or collaborator could easily pick up where the student left off and continue the work effort. Shared documents and folders (primarily using Google Drive) will be provided to support this need. This is a critical component to working within a larger team for sustainable forward momentum with projects where different team members may be assigned or re-assigned on a regular basis, and is particularly essential as a skill for virtual workers to take to heart and practice.

Research Assistant In Data (Name) Collection - UBC Professor Matt Lowe

Number of individual students required: 60 + students The research assistants will support the research initiatives under the guidance of research faculty. In addition, they will have the opportunity to work with UBC Professor Matt Lowe (https://mattlowe.site/). Areas of inquiry including: behavioural economics, labour economics, microeconomics. Professor Lowe's research project hopes to understand the ways in which public figures utilize social media to reflect their values. Currently at the stage of data collection, we are looking for motivated, energized, and hard-working students to gain exposure to research and academia. This stage of the position requires skills in data retrieval and manipulation, along with strong organization and time management abilities. This stage will focus on the name collection aspect of the summer program. The project may include, but is not limited to: Participating in data collection, manipulation, and data storage. Making use of knowledge on the North American academic system to make encoding decisions. Conducting quality checks and ensuring that encoded data is accurate. Attending triweekly meetings and contributing to study methodology and development. Note : The virtual internship will begin in May 2021 and conclude in early July 2021. Only UBC students are eligible to participate.