Research Assistant

Socket.dev; Kelowna; Hybrid; CAD 25,000 - 32,000; Part time

Job summary

Okanagan College in Kelowna seeks a Research Assistant to support an exploratory LMS transition study. You will assist literature syntheses, organize data artifacts, transcribe interviews, and help with descriptive statistics under guidance from the research team.

Flexibility in hybrid work with campus check-ins; 100-hour project running Oct 1, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027. Candidates must be current OC students, with strong communication and attention to detail.

Qualifications

• Must be a current student at Okanagan College.
• Strong communication skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently.
• Previous research experience is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Literature syntheses: assist in gathering, organizing, and summarizing academic literature on educational technology adoption and LMS design.
• Data collection and organization: help administer and organize research artifacts, assist with transcribing interview audio.
• Data analysis: assist in systematically analyzing institutional artifacts, perform thematic coding, and compile descriptive statistics.
• Knowledge dissemination: contribute to drafting research summaries, preparing summary tables, and formatting manuscripts and presentations.

Skills

Strong communication

Attention to detail

Independent working

Research experience

Education

Current student at Okanagan College

Job description

When you join Okanagan College, you're joining a team that is transforming lives and communities.

Every course you create, every student you support and every connection you build, it all matters.

Be a part of a vibrant campus community, where the work you do every day truly makes a difference.

Project Name: Student Feedback on Institutional Direction and Faculty Professional Development during LMS Transition

Desired Start Date: October 1, 2026

Position End Date: March 31, 2027

Salary range: $18.42 - $23.51

Bargaining Unit: BCGEU Support

Classification: Research Assistant

Type of appointment: Non-regular student

Closing date: September 30, 2026

Your Opportunity

This exploratory study seeks to explore student perceptions on specific LMS design choices they find helpful and challenging to their learning. By capturing student feedback during a technical migration audit, this research will identify design standards to inform institutional faculty development and improve online instructional quality. A descriptive research question is guiding this research, as it asks what is going on in terms of actual observable events and behaviour: How can student perceptions and feedback of effective course design captured during an LMS migration audit inform institution-wide design standards and the development professional learning for faculty and instructors?

The Research Assistant (RA) will support the research team across several key stages of the project:

• Literature Syntheses: assist in gathering, organizing, and summarizing academic literature on educational technology adoption, faculty workload, and LMS design.
• Data Collection & Organization: help administer organize research artifacts, assist with transcribing interview audio.
• Data Analysis: assist in systematic analyzing institutional artifacts, perform thematic coding, and compile descriptive statistics.
• Knowledge Dissemination: Contribute to drafting research summaries, preparing summary tables, and formatting manuscripts and presentations.

Location/Schedule of Work

This is a flexible hybrid position, with bi-weekly in-person check-in with the project supervisor at the Kelowna campus. The project is funded for 100 hours; RA can expect to work between 5-8 hours per weekend, depending on project need between October 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027.

Skills/Qualities Sought

Must be a current student at Okanagan College (this is a requirement of the funding source); have strong communication skills; high attention to detail; ability to work independently.
Previous research experience is an asset.

Our Values

Students first: Creating meaningful life-long educational opportunities of the highest quality for alumni, current, and future students is at the heart of everything we do.

Community: We are one College. We enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to work with, learn from, and support everyone we encounter collaboratively and collegially.

Respect: We welcome, embrace, and celebrate that which make us unique in creating an environment in which every individual is valued, affirming our commitment to human dignity for all.

Courage: We are courageous in our actions in areas that contribute to positive change in our communities and beyond. We have the courage to be vulnerable. We are truthful, sincere, and act ethically with honesty and fairness.

Relationships: We steward meaningful relationships built on a foundation of reciprocity. We are compassionate, empathic, and care for the holistic well-being of students, employees, community members, and the land.

Distinction: We choose activities in which we can achieve excellence and positively impact society.

Okanagan College is committed to increasing the equitable and inclusive participation of marginalized people in all aspects of college life. We welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black People, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, people with disabilities and people with diverse gender identities or expressions. People with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, [e-mail].