The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), is undertaking a multi-year project to study outcomes associated with retractions and corrections requested in conjunction with ORI findings of research misconduct. This project focuses on the impacts of research misconduct, found in scientific literature, on Public Health Service (PHS) funded research and human health. When faulty research reporting is not corrected or retracted, other researchers may build further research upon it or develop clinical treatments, potentially risking human health and safety, wasting funds, and perpetuating false science. The goal of this work is to understand how prevention, tracking, monitoring, reporting, and handling of requested retractions and corrections might be improved for the betterment of science and public health. ORI anticipates this research yielding significant insights that impact decisions made within a broad array of institutions and government agencies.

ORI has an opening on this project team for a highly qualified candidate to perform quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected by the broader project team. The potential data sources include both publicly available data (bibliometric, scientometric, and altmetrics) and government agency data related to scientific manuscripts, research funding, and/or research misconduct findings. This position may be filled through an OASH Service Fellow appointment (beginning at the equivalent of the GS 11 level and up to the GS 13 level, with a doctoral degree and related experience), a funded detail of an existing federal employee (from a GS 9 to GS 13 level), or an Intergovernmental Personnel Act appointment. The expected duration of the appointment is one year. The anticipated pay range is $60,129 - $103,690 (GS 9 step 1 – GS 13 step 1 or equivalent).

Applicants with extensive data collection and analysis experience and a background in the biomedical or natural sciences are especially encouraged to apply. Hands on experience with programming for data analysis (e.g., using R or Python) is a plus. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated strong project management skills, strong interpersonal communication skills, strong decision-making skills, and the ability to work well both independently and as part of a team. Motivation to pursue complex problems and the ability to work within a collaborative setting are also essential.

Who Should Apply

• Candidates with a Master’s degree or PhD in the biomedical or natural sciences, program evaluation/research, statistics, library science, or data science

• Candidates who have experience with one or more statistical software packages used in research (SPSS, Stata, SAS, etc.)

• Candidates with training and/or experience in quantitative or qualitative data collection, data normalization, and text analytics

• Candidates with strong written and oral communication skills

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send an expression of their interest (no more than two pages) and their resume (no more than five pages) to Dr. Karen Wehner at ORI-resumes@hhs.gov by January 22, 2021. Include “Retractions” in the subject line.