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Assistantship Positions

Please note: Assistantship positions are intended to complement the student’s program of study and a rationale may be required from the hiring department if the two are not clearly connected. Also, positions listed below may have already been filled. It is the student's responsibility to verify availability with the hiring departments. Should a student wish to have the assistantship application materials on file in the Graduate School sent to a department outside of their academic program, they must submit the request form (wiu.edu/graduate_studies/current_students/forms/GARequesttoDept.pdf)

Research Assistants, Writing Transfer - Department of English & Journalism

Writing curricula are based on the assumption that students can transfer skills and knowledge from their composition or writing-intensive classes to other contexts like writing in the major—with little or no assistance from their instructors. However, as researchers like David Russell (1995), Elizabeth Wardle (2007), and Tiane Donahue (2012) have pointed out, this is not at all guaranteed. As a field, writing studies knows too little about students’ abilities to transfer what they learn from writing courses we teach to other courses, work, or personal writing. This is particularly true for writing in the major, despite the popularity of writing instruction in the disciplines (WID) and similar approaches to teaching writing in higher education.

With this in mind, Neil Baird and Bradley Dilger are conducting grant-funded research into writing transfer, focusing on writing in the major, with special emphasis on transfer students. “Transfer @ Transfer: Barriers to Transfer in the 2+2 University” is a case study of writers at Western, drawing from diverse majors and backgrounds. Through a series of interviews, we are seeking to identify barriers to transfer and learn more about particular strategies writers adopt when attempting transfer (specifically, ease as a technique for managing complexity and difficulty, and negotiation of identity through writing).

Professors Baird and Dilger are seeking to fill two research assistant (RA) positions:

  1. Summer semester 2013 (8 weeks), full time. Compensation $1,886 plus one course tuition waiver. Enrollment in one course (3 sh) required.
  2. Fall semester 2013 (16 weeks), 1/3 time. Must hold a second 2/3 time position. Compensation $1,257. Enrollment in three courses (9 sh) required.

Duties will include:

  • Participating in data collection;
  • Transcribing interviews and focus group sessions;
  • Preparing manuscripts for use in discourse-based interviews;
  • Meeting weekly with Baird, Dilger, and other WIU personnel assisting with the project, with some weeks requiring five or more meetings, interviews, or focus groups;
  • Communicating with participants regarding interview times, payment of stipends, etc;
  • Assisting with preparation and administration of internal and external grants.

The RA will be afforded future opportunities for publication and continuing work with the project, as part of masters’ research, or as an internship.

Required qualifications:
  • Willingness to conduct research with participants’ confidentiality and well-being in mind, following framework for beneficence developed by Baird & Dilger, and to complete human subjects research training required by WIU;
  • Excellent time management and organizational skills;
  • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively;
  • Schedule that accommodates interviews and other project work;
  • Baseline requirements for graduate assistantship as defined by the School of Graduate Studies.
  • Knowledge of relevant qualitative research methods;
  • Working knowledge of writing studies theory and interest in continuing work in writing studies;
  • Prior experience with Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and file management;
  • Excellent transcription and/or typing skills.
Preferred qualifications:
  • Knowledge of relevant qualitative research methods;
  • Working knowledge of writing studies theory and interest in continuing work in writing studies;
  • Prior experience with Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and file management;
  • Excellent transcription and/or typing skills.
Application

To apply, please send a letter of application detailing how you meet the above qualifications, and a current résumé or curriculum vita to Bradley Dilger, Dept of English & Journalism. Attach a list of completed coursework if it is not included in your résumé or vita. Screening of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Questions? Please contact Bradley Dilger, cb-dilger@wiu.edu or 309-259-0328.