Research Assistant in Marketing Area (Focused on Qualitative Methods)

Indian Institute of Management Udaipur; Udaipur District; On-site; INR 420,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

Indian Institute of Management Udaipur invites applications for a Research Assistant in the Marketing Area, focused on qualitative methods. The RA will assist faculty with qualitative projects, notably in consumer culture, and gain exposure to academic research.

The position is 12 months, potentially renewable, with opportunities to attend seminars and pursue PhD-level coursework. Strong interest in anthropology/sociology and marketing is desirable.

Qualifications

• Motivation to pursue a Ph.D. in Marketing or related fields.
• Deep interest in and aptitude for qualitative research.
• Prior training in, or basic familiarity with, qualitative research methods.
• Open to learn new concepts and skills.
• Excellent English communication skills (writing and speaking).
• High standards of work quality: attention to detail, multitasking, commitment to task completion.
• Background in Anthropology/Sociology or qualitative research experience.
• Fluency in Indian languages other than English (e.g., Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi).

Responsibilities

• Aiding the faculty in participant recruitment and/or data collection using qualitative methods like in-depth interviews, observation/ethnography and netnography.
• Systematically maintaining project data (interview recordings, field notes) including translation/transcription.
• Independently carrying out qualitative data analysis with training provided as needed.
• Conducting comprehensive literature reviews and summarizing literature in reports or presentations.
• Assisting in writing proposals, extended abstracts, and manuscript drafts.
• Learning tools, techniques, and skills required for high‑quality qualitative research for assigned projects.
• Other research‑related tasks as assigned by faculty.

Job description

Research Assistant in Marketing Area (Focused on Qualitative Methods)

Position

IIMU Marketing faculty group is looking for one passionate and highly motivated qualitative researcher to join our area as a Research Assistant (RA). You will be expected to help the area faculty with their qualitative research projects (primarily in the domain of consumer culture), and in the process, you will be able to build a strong research profile of your own.

IIMU is a research-focused institution. You may attend regular research seminars by resident and visiting faculty, in which they present their working papers for feedback and discussion. You may also attend PhD-level coursework and workshops offered at IIMU (e.g., qualitative research methods, consumer culture theory, and adventures of theory building).

Salaries are competitive with similar positions in India. Further, the faculty will encourage you to initiate your own research and will be amenable to providing recommendation letters and guidance for applying for Ph.D. programs at top universities internationally.

In the last 3-4 years, IIMU’s RAs have secured Ph.D. admission offers from some of the best research universities in the world, including Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management, Penn State University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Pittsburgh, University of Maryland, University of Georgia, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, University of Connecticut, Georgia Institute of Technology, Kansas State University, University of Memphis, Western University – Ivey Business School (Canada), and London School of Economics and Political Science (UK).

Best Match

You should consider yourself a good fit for this position if you are interested in a career in academia, and more specifically, if your research interests are at the intersection of anthropology/sociology and Marketing/consumption, AND you are seriously considering pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing or related fields. This position will help you get some hands‑on academic research experience before starting your Ph.D. journey. You will be expected to assist faculty on their qualitative research projects (primarily in the broad domain of consumer culture). The skills you acquire and/or develop in the process will help you in applying for the top doctoral programs in Marketing and other related fields. You should be self‑motivated to take ownership of the research work assigned to you.

Responsibilities

This position is in an academic setting. Your job responsibilities will include:

• Aiding the faculty in participant recruitment and/or data collection using qualitative methods like in-depth interviews, observation/ethnography and netnography.
• Systematically maintaining the project data (e.g., interview recordings, field notes), including interview translation and/or transcription.
• Independently carrying out qualitative data analysis (you will be trained on analysis method/approach as per the project requirement).
• Conducting comprehensive literature reviews on assigned topics, including summarizing the relevant literature in a Word report and/or PowerPoint presentation.
• Assisting in the writing of: (1) research proposals (for grant applications), (2) extended abstracts (for conference submissions), and/or (3) manuscript drafts (for journal submissions).
• Learning the tools, techniques, and skills required to conduct high‑quality qualitative research work and using the same for assigned projects.
• Any other research‑related work, as may be assigned by the faculty from time to time.

Skills And Qualifications

We are looking for one hardworking, sincere, and self‑motivated individual who is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing or related fields. Prior training in, or at least some exposure to, qualitative research methodology is essential . The faculty will be willing to provide additional training and guidance to the candidate to ensure that they are able to carry out the assigned work efficiently, but they must have a strong interest in and a basic aptitude for qualitative research. The recruited RA will primarily assist in projects that aim to enhance the understanding of consumer culture and consumption. To this end, it would be an advantage to have an educational background in anthropology, sociology, or related social science fields. Candidates not having such an educational background but with prior experience in market research (and have worked on qualitative projects) are also strongly encouraged to apply. Highly motivated candidates from all backgrounds are welcome to apply if they are seriously interested in qualitative research.

Required:

• Motivation to pursue a Ph.D. in Marketing or related fields.
• Deep interest in and aptitude for qualitative research.
• Prior training in, or at least some basic familiarity with, qualitative research methods.
• An open mind to learn new concepts and skills.
• Excellent English communication skills (both writing and speaking fluency).
• High standards of work quality – specifically, we want our RAs to exhibit: (1) attention to detail, (2) ability to multitask, and (3) absolute commitment to task completion.
• A background in Anthropology/Sociology or relevant qualitative research experience in a prior role.
• Speaking and writing fluency in Indian languages other than English (e.g., Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi).

The RA position is contractual for 12 months and could be renewed for a further period of 12 months, enabling the candidate to build their research profile for Ph.D. applications. Each RA is expected to move on to a strong Ph.D. program at the end of two years.