Student Research Assistant Luo

*All student employment positions on campus are covered by a negotiated contract with the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW). RESEARCH ASSISTANT : The student assists a faculty member in descriptive, exploratory or experimental research; publications; performance activities; project creation; data collection, management and/or data analysis. Knowledge of administrative and/or clerical procedures, specialized software systems, managing files and records, designing forms and/or other required procedures. Requires strong time management, oral and written communication skills, and ability to problem solve. Project description: The research assistant will help build an online primary-source collection for The Historian as Detective, a 100-level History methods course scheduled for Spring 2027. In this Intro class, students will use small primary-source case files on a dedicated website to compare incomplete, uneven, and sometimes contradictory evidence and develop historical interpretations. The research assistant will handle source research, scanning, and documentation. A separate Vivero Digital Fellow will handle the website platform, design, templates, uploading, and technical work. Professor Luo will provide guidance in research, source evaluation, and teaching-collection design. The assistant may recommend sources and case-file groupings and will be credited for contributions. Responsibilities: Work with Prof. Luo to identify topics and source needs for pilot case files. Search catalogs, databases, archival portals, digital collections, and published source collections for primary documents and essential background resources. Evaluate sources for relevance, provenance, readability, scan quality, transcription or translation needs, and copyright or reuse restrictions. Record complete citations, stable links, rights information. Scan pages of physical copies when necessary. Write a short note on the value and possible use of each source. Flag gaps, contradictions, and items that need more context. Log searches, decisions, progress, and hours; communicate regularly via email with Prof. Luo. Meet in person when necessary and beneficial. Strong research skills, or the ability to learn them quickly. Careful attention to citations, source provenance, file organization, and detail. Ability to work independently, communicate reliably, and explain research choices clearly. Previous History coursework, relevant language skills, or experience with archives or digital collections is helpful but not required.