Research Assistant

We are really pleased to offer this excellent opportunity to join our team in the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care as Research Assistant on the Co-designing Digital Health Interventions With Patients, Carers, The Public, And Practitioners: Evidence Syntheses And Online Toolkit (COLLATE) study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This post will involve a number of key research tasks led by Dr O’Connor. The study is undertaking mixed methods systematic reviews on co-designing digital health interventions with different stakeholder groups such as patients, carers, the public, and healthcare practitioners. These rigorous evidence syntheses will be used to co-create an online toolkit that details the range of co-design methods, tools, and theories used in digital health research.

The role involves searching and screening scientific studies on digital health co-design, critically appraising studies, assessing their methodological quality and strength of evidence, extracting and analysing data, and integrating qualitative and quantitative results to produce rigorous mixed methods systematic reviews. These findings will be used to co-create an online toolkit with a range of stakeholders such as patients, carers, the public, researchers, and healthcare practitioners. Therefore, the role also involves participant recruitment, conducting co-creation workshops, along with quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. The postholder will be expected to prepare study documents as required and produce manuscripts and reports. The postholder will work with Dr O’Connor and the COLLATE team, and also take an active role on applications for future projects.

The role is based at the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care in the research division of Applied Technologies for Clinical Care. This division benefits from a multidisciplinary team comprising researchers, educators, health and care professionals, and patient and public involvement representatives.

Candidates should be highly motivated, with the ability to work independently and as part of a team. They should have excellent written and communication skills and be able to work and engage with multiple stakeholders, including patients, family carers, health and care practitioners, and Patient and Public Involvement members. The postholder will need to manage multiple deadlines and work independently to achieve these.  

This post will be offered on an​ fixed-term​ contract for a period of 12 months or with an end date of the 28th of February 2025, whichever is sooner. 

 This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent.

Key responsibilities

• To support Dr O’Connor in delivery of the COLLATE study. This will involve conducting mixed method systematic reviews and co-creating an online toolkit with researchers and health and care professionals. 
• To undertake systematic searches and screening of scientific studies. 
• To perform critical appraisal of relevant scientific studies. 
• To assess the methodological quality and confidence of evidence of relevant scientific studies using GRADE and CERQual. 
• To extract and synthesise data from scientific studies. 
• To support ethical review processes, including preparing amendments and revising study documents. 
• To conduct appropriate risk assessments where necessary and to take responsibility for one’s own and others’ health and safety. 
• To support participant recruitment and processes of consent, along with quantitative and qualitative data collection. 
• To analysis qualitative and quantitative data and write up study results. 
• To provide research administrative support for the COLLATE study. 
• To communicate and liaise with the COLLATE team members, as well as Patient and Public Involvement members and study participants. 
• To proof and draft reports for the study team, funders, and other groups. 
• To write up and disseminate study results, both academic and public audiences 
• To proof and draft conference papers and manuscripts for publication. 
• To work collaboratively with the project team at King’s College London and the University of Manchester, and with collaborating organisations. 
• Ensure confidentiality, research governance and data management in accordance with GCP guidelines. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience 

Essential criteria 

Desirable criteria