Research Associate
Northwestern University
This job at a glance
- Who can apply
- New grads and up to 2 years · Bachelor's degree
- Must know
- MarketingStatisticsPythonRData analysisPower BI
- Nice to have
- NLP
- Work
- On-site in Evanston
- Pay
- Not stated by the employer.
- Skill demand
- Statistics30%Python14%Marketing4%R2%of 99 similar entry-level jobs posted in the US this week
- Listed
- Nov 2, 2026 · still open
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About the Role
The Local News Accelerator (LNA) at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is seeking candidates for a full-time research associate position. The LNA provides coaching and consulting to local news organizations. The research associate will drive many aspects of the LNA’s research portfolio, reporting directly to the project director.
Key Responsibilities
- Designing, fielding, conducting, evaluating, analyzing, and reporting research on behalf of LNA clients.
- Consulting with LNA clients, staff, and contractors.
- Authoring case studies, articles, charts, and other assets for the LNA website.
- Presenting and communicating research findings, including at conferences.
- Participating in pitches to onboard new clients or develop new spin-off offerings from the LNA.
- Preparing analyses, connecting client research with broader Medill research and other relevant sources.
- Working directly with clients, LNA staff, and coaches to ensure research leads to maximum impact.
Requirements & Tech Stack
- Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Data Science, Statistics, or related field.
- Minimum Competencies:
- Programming experience related to data analysis (R, Python, etc.).
- Experience using business intelligence and data visualization tools (PowerBI, Tableau, etc.).
- Experience working with media or audience research.
- Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working in a higher-education environment.
- Preferred Competencies:
- Experience with natural language processing software and methods.
- Experience working with geographic information systems (ArcGIS, PostGIS, etc.).
Qualifications
- Experience with both quantitative techniques (e.g., surveys) and qualitative techniques (e.g., customer interviews, focus groups).
- Familiarity with market research already performed by the Local News Accelerator.
- Ability to demonstrate concrete improvements they would be prepared to lead.
- Grasp of leading journalism research with a national reputation, including from the State of Local News Project, the Pew Research Center, NORC Media Insights Project, American Press Institute, and other trusted sources.
- Strong interest in the future of local journalism.
- Experience working on consumer/market research projects.
- Fluency in standard qualitative and quantitative consumer research techniques.
- Bonus: Experience working with reputable software and vendors in this space.