My job as a freelance researcher is to provide clients with information to make better decisions. That can take many forms, and a lot of the value for clients (and fun for me) comes in when the problems aren’t yet well defined, so here are some examples of forms that has taken in the past:
- Scientific literature reviews with quantified analysis, especially biomedical or social sciences. In less explored areas these are likely to include sources outside the academic peer review system.
- Scouting potential new projects for experienced founders looking for their next thing.
- Investigating potential investors for a start-up to report what kinds of truthful pitches they were most likely to respond to.
- Find the right scientists to talk to about a problem that doesn’t have good literature yet.
- Calculate market size for a potential non-profit
The common elements across work I enjoy are:
- Decision relevant; I’m much more interested in answering questions where your action will change based on the answer than in justifying or science-washing a decision that’s already been made.
- Involve pulling together disparate information and reading between the lines to create an understanding that isn’t publicly discoverable.
- Producing quantified analysis even under heavy uncertainty.
- Makes the information ecosystem better rather than worse. I haven’t entirely ruled out work in advertising or PR, but I’m not going to help systems that make people dumber.
If you’re interested, please email me at elizabeth@acesounderglass.com with a description of your research question. From there we can set up a call to discuss details. I typically like to start work with new clients with a well-defined, ~5 hour project. This lets us see if we’re a good fit without wasting too much time if the answer turns out to be no. If things go well, we can expand from there. Rates start at $300/hour, with some room for negotiation based on deadline and topic.
Aceso Under Glass 