The Behavioral Research Lab offers a diverse team of behavioral and quantitative research assistants who are ready to support your academic projects. Their expertise includes, but is not limited to, data analysis, data labeling, participant recruitment, and managing both in-person and online studies.
We have a team of research assistants who can help with various tasks:
Behavioral RAs focus on tasks related to behavioral research, such as recruiting participants, administering studies, data labeling, literature review and more.
They are available at no additional cost for in-person studies, up to a total of 80 hours. For other tasks, they are compensated at a subsidized rate of $10 per hour for the first 80 hours. After the initial 80 hours, their rate increases to $22.50 per hour, even for in-person studies. Hours worked on in-person, remotely, and other projects all count towards the initial 80 hours.
Muna Ali is a junior in Columbia College majoring in Anthropology. She is interested in qualitative research methods, having previously conducted such research at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Outside of the BRL, Muna enjoys exploring NYC's bustling food scene, watching Arabic language TV shows, and snapping photos of her loved ones on her film camera.
Caden Burkman is a Junior at Columbia College studying Economics, Political Science, and Human RIghts with a specialization in Environmental Biology. He is passionate about environmental justice and climate finance, having completed extensive independent research within the field of environmental economics while considering the field's diverse and nuanced (and extensive) human rights implications. With high proficiency in Stata, Excel, and qualitative data processing, Caden applies a diverse approach to research he is a part of. In his free time, Caden enjoys singing and making music, caring for his plants, and spending time out in nature!
Sania Cunningham is a sophomore at Barnard College intending to major in Neuroscience and Behavior with a minor in Africana Studies. Sania is excited to start at the BRL as her passion lies in exploring how socioeconomic status, social exclusion, and our social identities can affect behavior and neural processes. Outside of academics, Sania tutors youth from Harlem and serves as the Equity and Inclusion chair for the Barnard Organization of Soul and Solidarity.
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Melody (Yuan-Pei) Fang is a junior at Barnard College majoring in Cognitive Science and Economics. Joining the lab as a Columbia Undergraduate Business Scholar, Melody works with Professor Kristen Lane focusing on information processing and sharing in online socializing spaces. Her research interests include decision architecture, perception, and consumer behavior in the gamified and social digital world. Outside of decision science, Melody enjoys playing volleyball, podcasting about the brain, and testing out new Taiwanese recipes.
Craig Freigang is a sophomore studying Financial Economics and Mathematics at Columbia School of General Studies. He is interested in analyzing the role of environmental cues on consumer behavior as well as the financialization of nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining the BRL, Craig performed as a professional ballet dancer and served as Vice President of the Milwaukee Dancers Fund.
Zahra Kamal is a Sophomore at Barnard College studying Psychology and Public Health. She is interested in examining social factors that influence decision-making and problem-solving skills, especially in children. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and learning new languages.
Isha Malaviya is a junior at Barnard College majoring in Economics. She is interested in the application of quantitative research methods to behavioral economics, which she has pursued through market research. Outside of her work at the Behavioral Research Lab, she enjoys exploring cafes in NYC and watching foreign films.
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Aria Simon is a sophomore at Barnard College studying Neuroscience, Statistics, and Economics. She is passionate about the intersectionality between business and healthcare, pursuing a career in finance. At the Behavioral Research Lab, she uses her proficiency in R Studio, Excel, SQL, and Java to perform statistical analysis of the data. In her spare time, she loves to sing (check out Columbia Nonsequitur A Cappella) and explore the beautiful parks in New York City!
Quantitative RAs are primarily data analysts with expertise in exploratory data analysis (EDA), statistics, and web scraping, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and more.
They are compensated at a subsidized rate of $10/hour for up to aggregate 80 hours/per semester per researcher, afterwards they are compensated at a rate of $24/hour.
Yanjie Chen is currently pursuing an MS in Marketing Science at Columbia Business School. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Richmond with a degree in Mathematical Economics, complemented by minors in Data Science & Statistics and Computer Science.
Yanjie is proficient in Python, SQL, R, Java, and C++, and skilled in using data visualization tools like Tableau and Power BI. Her expertise includes Exploratory Data Analysis, Statistical Modeling, and Forecasting, along with some experience in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing.
She is adept with libraries and packages such as pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, Matplotlib, seaborn, and ggplot2. Yanjie has applied techniques such as regression analysis, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, and A/B testing in both academic and professional settings. She has a passion for creating impactful data visualizations, building statistical models, and uncovering actionable insights from complex datasets.
JJiazheng Tian is currently enrolled in the MS program in Marketing Science at Columbia Business School. She previously earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Zhejiang University. Her professional experience includes serving as a Product Manager at SUPCON, where she led digital transformation initiatives, and as an Advertising Analyst at GroupM, where she developed marketing strategies and managed performance advertising projects. Jiazheng is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP, No. 3684552).
Jiazheng possesses strong technical expertise in Python, SQL, and R, with hands-on experience in Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), Data Visualization, Econometric Modeling, and Machine Learning. She is proficient in key analytical and visualization libraries, including Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, statsmodels, Matplotlib, and Seaborn. Her work frequently involves applying statistical methods such as ANOVA, hypothesis testing, classification, and regression modeling.
Her core competencies include regression analysis, A/B testing, data visualization, and applying machine learning algorithms to derive data-driven insights. She is highly skilled in tackling diverse data analytics challenges, including cleaning, processing, and interpreting complex datasets to deliver actionable insights. Jiazheng also has a keen interest in experimental design and mechanism development, areas she seeks to further explore and apply in practical contexts. Following her master’s program, she plans to deepen her expertise by pursuing a doctoral degree in Marketing.
Sherry Wang is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Marketing Science at Columbia Business School. She has a strong passion for understanding consumer behavior and decision-making through quantitative methods. Having previously worked as a Data Analyst Intern at NBCUniversal, she specializes in applying data analytics to gain actionable insights about customers. During undergrad, she was also a Research Assistant at the Consumer Behavior and Decision Science Lab at WashU Olin. Outside of academics, she enjoys movies, TV shows, and many kinds of entertainment.