What skills should a Social Science Research Assistant put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Writing, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Social Science Research Assistant list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Appletree, C++, and Database software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Social Science Research Assistant work?

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Graduate Research Assistant, Research Assistant, Research Associate, and Social Research Assistant. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Social Science Research Assistant need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 53% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Social Science Research Assistant role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Social Science Research Assistant resume example

A resume for a Social Science Research Assistant needs to show the work itself: assist social scientists in laboratory, survey, and other social science research. Day to day that means work like this: design and create special programs for tasks such as statistical analysis and data entry and cleaning; provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Graduate Research Assistant
Research Assistant
Research Associate
Social Research Assistant
Clinical Research Assistant
Graduate Assistant
Research Aide
Research Technician
UX Research Assistant
Bilingual Research Interviewer
Data Analyst
Economic Research Assistant
Economist Research Assistant
Historian Research Assistant
Laboratory Assistant
Market Research Interviewer
Political Science Research Assistant
Postdoctoral Research Associate

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Design and create special programs for tasks such as statistical analysis and data entry and cleaning.
Provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
Prepare tables, graphs, fact sheets, and written reports summarizing research results.
Perform descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses of data, using computer software.
Verify the accuracy and validity of data entered in databases, correcting any errors.
Develop and implement research quality control procedures.
Prepare, manipulate, and manage extensive databases.
Perform data entry and other clerical work as required for project completion.
Conduct internet-based and library research.
Present research findings to groups of people.
Obtain informed consent of research subjects or their guardians.
Administer standardized tests to research subjects, or interview them to collect research data.

22 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Design and create special programs for tasks such as statistical analysis and data entry and cleaning, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Prepare tables, graphs, fact sheets, and written reports summarizing research results, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Perform descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses of data, using computer software, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Appletree
C++
Database software
ESRI ArcGIS software
Extensible markup language XML
Graphics software
IBM SPSS Statistics
JavaScript
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook

33 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Computer data input scanners
Computer laser printers
Desktop computers
Multi-line telephone systems
Personal computers
Photocopying equipment
Tablet computers
Transcription equipment

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Appletree
Graphics

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Writing
05Complex Problem Solving
06Speaking
07Science
08Active Learning
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Mathematics

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

English Language
Computers and Electronics
Administrative
Mathematics
Customer and Personal Service

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

53%Bachelor's Degree
37%Master's Degree
9%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Social Science Research Assistant do?: Assist social scientists in laboratory, survey, and other social science research. Day to day that includes work like design and create special programs for tasks such as statistical analysis and data entry and cleaning and Provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
What skills should a Social Science Research Assistant put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Writing, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Social Science Research Assistant list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Appletree, C++, and Database software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Social Science Research Assistant work?: O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Graduate Research Assistant, Research Assistant, Research Associate, and Social Research Assistant. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Social Science Research Assistant need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 53% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Social Science Research Assistant role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.