Research Assistant expectations & resources

Working in the BLAB

RAs are expected to:

• Schedule 10 hours of work per week

  • Same shifts week to week unless a specific conflict comes up

  • Shifts should generally be 2-4 hours long

  • If you have a known conflict, please email the Lab Manager at least two days in advance and change it on the "RA shifts" google calendar once it is approved.

  • Shifts should be rescheduled via email or slack with the Lab Manager, not in person-- they are managing many people's schedules and it's impossible to remember them only via word mouth

  • Spend no more than ~5 in lab hours per week on tasks related to your mentor's project or thesis project; at least 5 of your in lab hours are dedicated to lab-general tasks (recruiting, hopping in on visits, VIHI transcriptions)

  • Communicate effectively

  • Please make every effort to respond to emails or Slack messages within two business days. If you'll be away from messages for longer than usual, please let us know to expect your absence.

  • Make sure we know if you won't be attending a scheduled lab meeting.

  • Use Slack to troubleshoot anything that isn't working. If you haven't gotten a response in one business day, tag a lab staff member in a thread to remind them!

  • Please be vigilant with Asana--check off anything that you've finished and assign anything that can't be finished to lab staff.

• Attend weekly lab meetings

  • Contribute positively to our discussions (this means we expect you to talk)!

  • Generally, RAs are asked to present a 10-minute synopsis of a relevant research paper from a scientific journal once per semester.

• Complete assigned tasks in an efficient and careful manner

  • RAs are expected to use three sites to manage their work:

    • Asana: this is where you will find out what tasks you’re expected to complete. Some have a due date (like recruitment calls) and some are expected to take longer (coding). RAs should check in on Asana at the beginning of every shift and make sure to mark completed tasks as finished. If needed, Asana tasks have a “Notes” field, where it is possible to tag lab staff in comments for any questions that arise.

    • Gitbook: this is where you will find instructions for everything BLAB related. If you have a question, first search the Gitbook to see if you can find an answer there. Feel free to ask lab staff/graduate students questions after you’ve done some research on the Gitbook.

    • Slack: Where staff and grad students might send you a quick message of something to check on during your next shift, ask a question about an appointment you scheduled, etc.

  • Lab visits are assigned through the Google Calendar. Check the lab calendar on a daily basis to see if you are assigned to lab visits during your shifts.

  • Track your progress when your shift ends in the Work Log

• When an RA is assigned to a lab visit, responsibilities include:

  • Set up paperwork 30 minutes before

  • Set up clipboards, webcam, check in with experimenter

  • Meet parents in the parking lot with the pass at beginning of visit and walk them out after

  • Explain forms carefully to parents and collect all necessary signatures

  • Act as eye tracking co-pilot

    • Hit record on the video when the study begins

    • Keep track of trials where the parent repeats the sentence or other notable interruptions using the eye tracking notes binder

  • Administer surveys on iPad as necessary

• Answer the lab phone if it rings and you're working at a computer.

  • Schedule, reschedule, or redirect their call as appropriate

• Be responsible about the use of data.

  • Personal information should always be protected; do not say names of people in the database to anyone outside of the lab. Do not write them on slack/email/calendar-- we use the database ID number for this.

  • Never share lab-related information with anyone outside of the lab.

  • If you must write down a name or phone number, be sure to shred the paper after you finish using it (there is a shredding box one floor up if you take the stairs directly across from the lab).

  • Never put names and subject numbers together outside of password-protected spreadsheets.

  • Do not download any data to your computer locally (e.g. on your desktop or in your documents) without explicit permission from the lab manager to do so. Work on the secure server! Do not upload data to cloud storage ever (Google drive/Box/etc)

• Be a good lab citizen, which means:

  • Showing up to work on time

  • Getting a flu shot during flu season and Covid boosters as they become available

  • Dressing appropriately for lab visits (i.e. don't wear pajamas on a day you're meeting a family)

  • Being friendly and helpful with coworkers

  • Letting lab staff or Dr. Bergelson know if you are having trouble or need support -- we are here for you!

• Keep distractions to a minimum while working

  • Please do not use your phone while working on a lab task

  • This is not a demand to never check your text messages or Snapchat, just please take a few minutes once or twice during your shift to do so, so that you are not on your phone at the same time while doing a lab task

• Everyone must get a flu shot before Oct. 31

  • Please take a photo of yourself getting the flu shot so that you can verify that you got your flu shot

• Fill out timecards by the deadline

  • Emails from PeopleSoft will remind you to submit it each Thursday.

  • If you don't fill out a timecard by the deadline, Harvard can't guarantee payment and your timecard will have to go through a much lengthier approval process.