"Lab Assistant"

The Post

Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences is offering a part-time, fixed-term Lab Assistant position to work with Dr Anna Bobak on an Economic and Social Research council funded project ‘Improving Eyewitness Accuracy with 3D Interactive Lineups’.

Summary/aims of project

Accurate witness identification (ID) is a cornerstone of police inquiries and national security investigations. Yet, the technology used to display lineups has not fundamentally changed over the past century. Worldwide, police present witnesses with 2D photographic or video lineups. Eyewitnesses often err on ID tests—analyses of real-world police identification parades reveal that witnesses quite often identify known-innocent suspects as culprits. Eyewitness mistakes can have dire consequences and been implicated in about 70% of wrongful convictions. This project implements recent advances in 3D image technology and virtual reality (VR) to increase witness ID accuracy.

Description of Duties

• Operate and carry out routine maintenance on standard equipment
• Assist with cognitive assessments
• Prepare and carry out tests/experiments following standard protocols
• Assisting project researchers in studies involving research participants following set procedures
• Carry out basic interpretation of data/test results and present findings accurately
• Support student learning and provide user-support through the demonstration of equipment and techniques

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

• Vocational qualifications (N/SVQ 2/3, ONC or equivalent, including Psychology UG study experience)

Knowledge & Experience

• Competent written and oral communication skills
• Competent numeracy and IT skills

Skills & Attributes

• Competence with equipment and technical tools
• Work scheduling and prioritising

For further information, including a full description of duties, essential criteria and details on how to apply, please click on the Apply button above.