Surveys and Research Statistical Consultant

Overview

The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) is a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) professional association whose mission is to promote the advancement and professional development of its members who prepare the next generation of internal medicine physicians and leaders through education, research, engagement, and collaboration. AAIM advances research and scholarship through member advisory committees that develop recurring and other research surveys on disciplinary trends and topics in medical education. More about AAIM Surveys and Research projects may be viewed at https://www.im.org/data/alliance-research-surveys.

Consultant Position

AAIM is seeking a consultant to assist the Director of Survey Research with

1. Producing summary results (cleaning datasets, reporting frequencies, percentages, measures of central tendency, creating a limited number of secondary/supporting variables) for its 2024 Annual Survey of Internal Medicine Residency Program Directors; and
2. Data management (e.g., updating population contact files during fielding) and producing summary results for its 2025 Annual Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Program Administration Survey. The consultant will also produce a limited number of supporting data tables (from both surveys) for survey committee leaders to use in creating or updating data visualizations (e.g., graphs) for Annual Survey presentations.

Qualifications and Skills

• Demonstrated intermediate knowledge of applied statistics for survey data analysis, including descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing (goodness-of-fit tests, tests for association, ANOVA). Working knowledge of inferential statistics (logistic regression, linear regression, nonparametric regression) is beneficial. Strong data management skills, attention to detail, and commitment to maintaining data confidentiality and applying best practices for data security. Training in human subjects research is desirable.
• Intermediate proficiency in the Stata statistics software platform (SE: Version 14 or higher), preferably using Stata syntax (note: Surveys staff will provide select copies of modifiable syntax from past Annual Surveys, for reference and use by the consultant). Knowledge of Stata functions/programming such as looping for repetitive tasks is beneficial for simplifying the work but not essential.
• Ability to carefully document one’s work using the Stata do-file editor and to accurately report data table supporting footnotes (e.g., reporting item non-response and clarifying numerators/denominators) as necessary.
• Strong productivity software skills (e.g., Microsoft Office 365) for information management and formatting results exported from survey software.
• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or bachelor’s degree with master’s degree in progress.
• Relevant degree fields include but are not limited to applied statistics or data science, economics, and other quantitative social sciences (e.g., sociology, psychology), public health, or public policy.

The project work will span from September 2024 to March 2025 and will be conducted remotely. The estimated amount of time required to complete this work will depend on the consultant’s level of technical training and relevant experience and is estimated to range from 20- 40 hours per week and the rate of pay to be $20-$30 per hour commiserate with technical experience.

Knowledge of academic medicine is not necessary for this consultancy. Any new Stata code generated by the analyst and the final de-identified dataset will be retained by AAIM for documentation and future applications such as scholarly works.

Findings from these surveys have been published extensively by AAIM members (who draft and revise survey questions) in peer-reviewed journals such as Academic Medicine. AAIM does not use any survey results or datasets for commercial purposes or applications and all survey projects to which the consultant will be assigned have or will have been granted an exemption determination from full review by Pearl IRB (U.S. DHHS OHRP #IRB00007772).

Process and Point of Contact

Interested candidates should contact human resources at jobs@im.org and provide a copy of the CV/resume, a description of how their experience relates to this consultancy, and a representative sample of their technical work (e.g., statistical software syntax, technical reports or other produced or published from their past work with data analyses). AAIM Surveys Staff will provide the consultant with a data confidentiality agreement and will provide access to de-identified datasets, sample syntax, and copies of previous Annual Survey summary results reports and other documentation for guidance, via a secure file sharing platform. Based on the consultant’s level of training, staff will discuss with them the most efficient and appropriate means of exporting results from Stata to the MS Excel or MS Word environment.

The consultant will communicate closely with the Director of Survey Research and will be acknowledged for their role in producing survey summary results.