Attached are details of a summer student placement at the National Foundation for Educational Research.

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National Foundation for Educational Research
Statistics Research and Analysis Group

Summer Student

The NFER is one of the country's leading educational research institutions. The Statistics Research and Analysis Group is seeking an enthusiastic and hard-working student to help with its heavy summer workload. The work would be varied, working alongside other statisticians on projects which include the analysis of survey and test development data, data matching, and the provision of feedback to participating schools. Ideally the student would have completed part of a degree in statistics or a combination where statistics was a substantial part. We would be interested in students who are completing undergraduate courses this year and going on to postgraduate study, or students who will be starting their final year in the autumn.  However we will consider students at other stages of their education. They would be able to work well as part of a team and operate effectively on a number of tasks at once. Expertise in the use of SPSS and Excel would be a distinct advantage.

We are looking for some-one who is able to work for at least three months between June and September. If you are interested, please visit the NFER website www.nfer.ac.uk<http://www.nfer.ac.uk> to obtain further details.  Completed CVs should be sent to Sally Green ([log in to unmask]<[log in to unmask]>). Closing date for applications is 14th May 2010. Interviews will be held on Thursday 27th May 2010, although alternatives could potentially be found if difficult.




Further Particulars


Statistician Student Placement - Temporary Contract
Post Summer 2010

The Foundation
The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was founded in 1946, and is Britain's leading educational research institution.  It is an independent body undertaking research and development projects on issues of current interest in all sectors of education and training.  The Foundation's mission is to gather, analyse and disseminate research based information with a view to improving education and training.  Its membership includes all the local authorities in England and Wales, the main teachers' associations and a large number of other major organisations with educational interests.

The Foundation has a staff of approximately 250, most of whom are based at the Foundation's offices which are located in pleasant grounds less than a mile from the centre of Slough. Communications by road and rail are excellent and there is free parking.  The Foundation has grown considerably over the past few years and a new building was completed in October 2003.  There are also two growing regional offices - a Welsh office, based in Swansea, and a Northern office, based in York.  NFER staff benefit from some of the best conditions of service available at any British research institution, and there is a strong emphasis on collegiate and team working.  The Foundation is committed to the development of all its staff and has achieved Investor in People status.  For further information you may wish to visit our website:  http://www.nfer.ac.uk<http://www.nfer.ac.uk/>

Statistics Research and Analysis Group
The Statistics Research and Analysis Group has a vital role in contributing to the overall mission of the National Foundation for Educational Research. Its particular aims are:

*       To provide statistical support that is responsive to the needs of the Foundation.

*       To be proactive in shaping the Foundation.

*       To develop and refine the statistical techniques used within the group. To maintain and expand our understanding of the theoretical developments in educational research.  To unite both of these so that we provide the best and most up to date analyses for educational data.

*       To support the technical and intellectual development of all its statisticians in ensuring SRAG is a place of work that challenges all of its staff.

*       To provide training and support to the Foundation's research staff so that they have the expertise required to undertake high quality research

*       To contribute to the academic debate and basic research within the statistics of education, and to be recognised for worthwhile contributions to national and international research.


Statisticians have an important role to play in many aspects of the work of the Foundation, from the development of research proposals, through designing and carrying out statistical analyses, to providing input to a final report. Commonly a statistician will be working in collaboration with researchers on a number of projects at different stages. These projects range from small-scale investigations to large and complex national or international surveys.

Essentially, the work of the Statistics group can be divided between analysing responses to questionnaires and similar survey documents, and evaluating tests and assessment instruments. The latter area of work involves a number of specialised analysis techniques, and is a heavy user of statistical expertise.

As well as its primary role in supplying a statistical service to the Foundation as a whole, the group also conducts its own research projects, sponsored either internally or externally. Current areas of interest include school effectiveness, involving 'value-added' analysis of pupil results, and the investigation of technical issues such as using bootstrap methods to correct for measurement error in multi-level models.

The Statistics group comprises a number of statisticians with varying degrees of experience and accustomed to support each other in their project work. Each statistician has a powerful PC, running under Windows NT and connected by a local area network to data and software resources. The main software tool used is SPSS, and to an increasing extent Excel, but other packages are used as required, together with some programs developed in-house.

The main areas of statistics within which a student could be involved are therefore:

*       Sampling methodology, including clustered and stratified sampling;
*       Simple analysis of survey data, including multiple response data;
*       Regression analysis, possibly including multilevel modelling;
*       Psychometric test analysis;\
*       Feedback of pupil results to schools.

Support would be given in all the above areas, in particular those which were unfamiliar. The qualities that we are looking for in candidates for this post are:

*       A statistical background and some experience in using statistical techniques and packages. Experience in SPSS or Microsoft Office (particularly Excel) would be a particular advantage;
*       The ability to work quickly and accurately under pressure;
*       A positive and professional attitude to all kinds of work;
*       The ability to develop good relationships with colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds;
*       Good communication skills, both written and oral

Employment details
1.      Length of placement:    It is expected that the placement will be for at least 12 weeks during the period Monday 7th June to Friday 17th September 2010; however this is open for negotiation.

2.      Hours:  Hours of work are 9:15am to 5:15pm (one hour for lunch).

3.      Renumeration:   £21,281 pro rata



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