The Research Assistant working in an agency helps the market researcher gather, examine, and analyze information. These data are used by the various departments in the agency to determine client advertising and marketing options. Much of the job of the Research Assistant revolves around learning how and when to do things.
The individual must determine how and where to research information and what to do with it once he or she has collected it. The assistant has varied functions depending on the agency, his or her experience level, and the department’s organization. Sometimes the Research Assistant works independently; at other times the individual works with the market researcher or others on the research team. The Research Assistant may take part in group meetings where members of the research department discuss different ways to test advertisements, commercials, and products and methods to analyze information that has been gathered.
With the current influx of electronic technology, much of the work of market researchers is done via computers. The Research Assistant may perform all varieties of computer work, from typing or inputting data that has been gathered to doing data searches and computer statistical analysis. The individual might be required to learn word processing programs as well as mathematical, statistical, and data-searching programs.
Depending on the individual’s experience level, the assistant may help the research team develop surveys and questionnaires. The Research Assistant may do the legwork associated with formulating these type of tests. He or she may do research on similar and competitive products, media exposure, potential buyers, and demographics. The Research Assistant is also involved in implementing the research strategies that have been developed. The individual might conduct surveys, interviews, taste tests, or telephone polls. After the testing is completed, the assistant is responsible for gathering the results and collating them in a form that can be analyzed.
The Research Assistant might be assigned to find and train a staff of workers to conduct the required tests. He or she would have to brief the workers by illustrating what questions to ask, how to ask them, and how to record results. The Research Assistant is responsible for doing a lot of the grunt work associated with research. He or she frequently visits or contacts libraries, private businesses, and federal, state, and local agencies to seek out information for the market researcher, who then incorporates it into the appropriate study. The individual might make phone calls, take messages, compose letters, type surveys, and proofread results.
As he or she gains more experience, the Research Assistant will be required to clarify research problems and recommend solutions. He or she often has to locate research that has already been done by other industries and agencies as well as compile new data. The individual is also responsible for the analysis and evaluation of research results. In some agencies the Research Assistant works wherever needed in the department. In others, the individual is assigned a market researcher to work with. Most work is supervised and/or checked until the assistant has gained proficiency in research methods and interpretation.
The Research Assistant may sit in on meetings with the client, account executive, copywriters, art directors, and media people. In time the Research Assistant will be delegated more and more responsibility. Eventually the individual will have the experience to develop all types of tests, questionnaires, and surveys as well as the capability to decide what type of test should be used in specific research. Depending on the organization of the agency, the individual is responsible to either a market researcher or a research executive.
Earnings for Research Assistants working in agencies vary greatly depending on a number of factors. These include the education, experience, and responsibilities of the individual as well as the size and location of the agency the person is working for. Earnings can range from $23,000 to $30,000 or more annually. Those working in agencies may also have benefit plans to supplement their salary.
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Mark S. Anderson at 04122010
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