What are the responsibilities and job description for the Temporary Student Researcher position at City of Rockville?
Job Summary
We are looking to hire several temporary Student Researchers to support Art in Public Places Program. Reporting to the Arts and Culture Program Manager, the position of Student Researcher is a temporary, hourly position paying $18/hour, and is specifically intended conduct intercept surveys and informal observations in Memory Walk Park as part of phase one for the Lincoln Park Public Art Project. Up to four people will be hired on a temporary basis for the position. This group of four people will be divided into groups of two and scheduled to conduct the research in Memory Walk Park during the weekends of March 29 and April 5, 2025. Time spent working on the project as a group of four will include an orientation meeting with the Arts and Culture Program Manager, as well as additional hours to process the data, write the summary of findings, and present the findings by Friday, May 2, 2025. This opportunity is open to students in Montgomery College’s Data Science program.
About the Art in Public Places Program and The Memory Walk
The City of Rockville’s Art in Public Places program was established in 1978 and has 57 works in its collection. Artist Christine Hoenstine was commissioned to create the original Memory Walk artwork in Lincoln Park in 1995. Hoenstine worked extensively with the community to make the Memory Walk, and it held significant meaning for generations of families who contributed to it with handprints and stories depicted in the walk. The art was removed in 2023, and it still holds an important place in the hearts of Lincoln Park community members.
To honor the importance of the original Memory Walk, the Arts and Culture Program Manager is working with residents of Lincoln Park to create a new piece of public art to build on the artwork’s legacy. Activities to engage the community and solicit their input for the new artwork will take place in two phases. The first phase began in February 2025 with the Lincoln Park Postcard Project, an electronic survey, and will include an intercept surveys and informal observations conducted in Memory Walk Park. An intercept survey is a research method used to collect information from people using a set of prepared questions. The researcher asks these questions to people at random within a defined site. Informal observation is a research method used to observe behavior without directly engaging with people. The behaviors that are observed are defined in advance. Both the intercept survey and informal observation are conducted within ethical parameters for research. The second phase of community engagement efforts will begin after an artist is selected to create the new piece of art.
Essential Job Functions
Reporting to the Arts and Culture Program Manager, Student Researchers will:
- Attend an orientation with the Arts and Culture Program Manager prior to beginning work
- Conduct intercept surveys and informal observations in Memory Walk Park
- Sort and code data
- Accurately summarize findings in a report based on a reliable data set
- Present findings to the Arts and Culture Program Manager
Qualifications
Qualified applicants will have the following qualifications and experience:
- Enrolled in at least one capstone course
- Ability to interpret data and nuances associated with the data
- Present at least one data science and analysis project that demonstrates skills in using research protocol, sorting and coding data, and producing a report based on findings
- Working in a collaborative team to produce deliverables in a timely manner
- Demonstrated ability to reliably perform tasks and ask for guidance from colleagues and supervisors when needed
- Local to Rockville and able to work the weekends as detailed in the Job description
Salary : $18
