Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A bachelor's-level RA on a 2-year contract conducting structured interviews under a PI's protocol
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A research associate with independent design authority is not an RA in the narrow sense
Editorial commentary
RA roles range from largely administrative to highly substantive scientific contribution. Career progression typically leads to research-associate roles (greater independence) or to doctoral study. UK academic grading places RA below research associate; US usage is less standardised.
References
- UCEA UK Higher Education Academic Pay Grades
- Vitae Researcher Development Framework
Also known as
RA · Research aide
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
xml
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Research assistant"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/research-assistant" />json
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"name": "Research assistant",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/research-assistant",
"description": "A staff member employed to provide research support — data collection, literature search, analysis, administration — to a research project under the direction of a more senior researcher, typically without independent design authority over the project.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/mentorship-training-and-career-stages/",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/research-assistant",
"sameAs": [
"RA",
"Research aide"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}
