Research Writer Interview With Michael

I needed a job that offered a flexible schedule and allowed me to work from anywhere. I love the creativity, energy and pace of academia. I also love freedom and don't like being told what to do (lol)! This freelancing job is an opportunity to use and hone my academic and technical writing skills whenever I need it while helping other students.

My academic studies have focused primarily on gender and ethnic studies and I frequently write about gender, sexuality, race and citizenship. Identity and culture are highly contested discourses which make most analyses politically charged and relevant to everyone. This provides a rich environment in which to write and I find these subjects infinitely fascinating.

I have worked for over six years in community/public health. I have administered and authored research studies on communicable diseases, behavior change and health promotion interventions. I have designed and implemented research tools, collected and analyzed primary data and preformed in-depth literature reviews in the fields of HIV/HEP C prevention, drug and alcohol use, motivational interviewing and disease epidemiology. In addition, I have worked as a manager in non-profit organizations and understand the complexities of non-profit management and administration including grant writing, staff development and training, volunteer management, program development/design and strategic planning.

Certainly. I can also craft power-point presentations, posters, handouts and other presentationmaterials. In an increasingly digital culture, the use of multimedia is commonplace and many instructors and programs expect that students will know how to utilize technology to augment and compliment their work. In addition, I can create basic databases using Microsoft Access and produce reports from both Access and Excel that can be used to analyze quantitative data and then incorporated this data into research projects. Math and statistics can be intimidating for many students and navigating what seems like complicated and impossible software can be frustrating. That's where I can help.

Be as specific as possible about the essay or materials that you'd like produced. Include not only the assignment as written by an instructor or as written on the syllabus but also describe anything that your audience might be expecting to see in your work. These details will help your assigned writer create materials more specific to your needs. I am always willing to work closely with a student but starting off with sufficient details will make the process go smoothly.

I have access to a large university library catalogue and subscriptions to all major academic journals. Finding recent and credible sources can be difficult on the internet and I will use appropriate guidelines when evaluating any information used from the internet. All sources will be cited using the format requested by the student. The student is also welcome to suggest sources and often must use articles or materials they have read and discussed in class. I have no problem trying to accommodate students' requests for particular sources.

In addition to working, I'm taking classes in computer science, chemistry, biology and physics in pursuit of a degree in biomedical informatics. Although some days I fantasize about being a chemist and spending my day in a lab coat like the mad scientists I read about as a kid. I am also fascinated by astronomy, microbrews, independent music and NPR. I volunteer for several local non-profits, cook meals at home, work out at the gym and play video games.