As a part-time research assistant, your job is to help study or investigate a specific topic. In this role, you may work with or select participants, collect data, verify the conduct of all participants in the study, and document all collected or submitted information. Research assistants usually work for a university or research institute and specialize in a particular field. For example, if you study the earth sciences, you may qualify for a job helping research a specific question of geology. Research assistants can also work in areas like polling, public interest research, consulting, think tanks, market research, or medical research.