How to hire a data research analyst

How to hire a data research analyst, step by step

Here's a step-by-step data research analyst hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a data research analyst job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new data research analyst
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a data research analyst do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the data research analyst you need to hire. Certain data research analyst roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect data research analyst also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of data research analysts and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Data Research Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Data Research Analyst	Market research analysts study market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. They help companies understand what products people want, who will buy them, and at what price.	$19-38
   Analyst Sales	Analyst sales, or a sales analyst, is a professional who is responsible for increasing sales and revenue of a company by running competitive analysis and making recommendations on how the marketing and sales team should move forward. Sales analysts must assist in the review of monthly financial statements and prepare complex financial statements for retail and service businesses... Show more	$22-47
   Analyst	Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes... Show more	$25-47

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Analysis
   • Data Collection
   • Patients
   • Python
   • Research Projects
   • Data Management
   • Stata
   • SAS
   • Visualization
   • Statistical Analysis
   • Analyze Data
   • Data Entry
   • Healthcare
   • Data Quality

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage weapon system project websites via SharePoint, including troubleshooting technical issues and developing guidelines for public/private information and user permissions.
   • Implement data and analysis visualization using Java.
   • Clean data in SPSS for further analysis, formatting variable names, labels, and order.
   • Utilize SAS data outputs and an intimate working knowledge of Atlantic coast fisheries to identify anomalies in the data sets.
   • Develop tools using VBA to validate input and export data correlation to decrease manual validation time need by data owners.
   • Contribute towards thesaurus management and visualization tools development.

   More data research analyst duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the data research analyst job description is a good way to get more applicants. A data research analyst salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a data research analyst in West Virginia may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level data research analyst. Additionally, a data research analyst with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average data research analyst salary

   $57,865yearly

   $27.82 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level data research analyst salary

   $40,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average data research analyst salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$80,580	$39
   2	New Jersey	$75,555	$36
   3	California	$71,617	$34
   4	District of Columbia	$71,502	$34
   5	New York	$71,296	$34
   6	Virginia	$64,671	$31
   7	Minnesota	$64,457	$31
   8	Massachusetts	$62,090	$30
   9	Oregon	$60,637	$29
   10	Texas	$59,585	$29
   11	Georgia	$59,259	$28
   12	Colorado	$58,842	$28
   13	Illinois	$58,462	$28
   14	Arkansas	$57,577	$28
   15	North Carolina	$57,498	$28
   16	Utah	$56,081	$27
   17	Maryland	$54,508	$26
   18	Pennsylvania	$54,249	$26
   19	Tennessee	$52,359	$25
   20	Ohio	$51,678	$25

   Average data research analyst salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Microsoft	$100,350	$48.25	387
   2	Google	$92,790	$44.61	381
   3	The Citadel	$86,643	$41.66	15
   4	Bloomberg	$86,139	$41.41	69
   5	Meketa Investment Group	$84,675	$40.71	2
   6	Douglas Elliman	$83,715	$40.25
   7	Mesirow	$81,416	$39.14
   8	Evercore	$80,778	$38.84	7
   9	Moody's	$78,922	$37.94	3
   10	Two Sigma	$78,674	$37.82
   11	Activision Blizzard	$77,608	$37.31	7
   12	QuintilesIMS	$75,461	$36.28	122
   13	Stanford University	$73,423	$35.30	169
   14	Oak Ridge National Laboratory	$72,348	$34.78	35
   15	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$72,316	$34.77	57
   16	SC Johnson	$71,675	$34.46	1
   17	Merrill Lynch	$70,588	$33.94
   18	Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.	$70,510	$33.90	3
   19	U.S. Bank	$70,476	$33.88	57
   20	Datadog	$69,983	$33.65	14

4. Writing a data research analyst job description

   A good data research analyst job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a data research analyst job description:

   Data research analyst job description example

   The F.I. Proctor Foundation is hiring a new team member to join our fast paced, collaborative team studying infectious/inflammatory eye diseases and child health in the U.S. and internationally. The Proctor Foundation is one of the leading research centers in the world for the global elimination of trachoma (the leading infectious cause of blindness). Research projects include cluster and individually randomized trials that involve domestic and international collaboration. The Research Data Analyst will be asked to lead database and electronic data capture system design, data processing, statistical analyses, and provide assistance with grant writing and publications.
   
   We are looking for a team member to work with faculty members to conduct statistical analyses in the context of large, cluster randomized trials, and to summarize results through data visualization and other formats. Data analysts at Proctor play an integral role in designing new research studies (including international clinical trials), design and manage databases for data collection, provide basic training and support in statistical and data-related principles to residents, fellows and other employees. Analysts also contribute to research grants, statistical analysis plans, and manuscripts. The new member will join a large team of more than 10 data scientists at Proctor and will have the opportunity to contribute to large studies that implement state-of-the-art in clinical trial methods, work flows, and analysis, such as: real-time electronic data capture, transparent and reproducible research methods (e.g., computational notebooks, git version control), interactive figures, and reports, We are interested in applicants who show an interest in clinical research and a desire to contribute to the state of knowledge on the prevention, treatment and correlates of disease. All team members at Proctor must be able to communicate effectively, multitask, problem-solve, and apply creative solutions to new and unexpected situations with limited supervision. This position may include travel to Africa on an annual basis.
   Department Description
   
   The F.I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology at UCSF is committed to engaging in research activities and providing state-of-art patient care that address infectious and inflammatory disease that cause blindness. The mission is the prevention of blindness worldwide through research and teaching focused on infectious and inflammatory eye disease. The Proctor Foundation currently has >10 active field trials funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
   
   Required Qualifications
   
   BA/BS with a coursework in quantitative analysis (i.e. data science, biostatistics, mathematics, computer science, statistics or related field and 1-2 years relevant experience and/or equivalent experience / training Demonstrated proficiency with at least one statistical software language (R preferred) Strong writing/communication skills Knowledge of various study designs and implementation strategies Knowledge of database management Experience with electronic data collection
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   
   Graduate degree in statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology or related field and two to three years of experience in practical data analysis or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience with electronic data collection Experience with R markdown and computational notebooks
   
   About UCSF
   
   The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It is the only campus in the 10-campus UC system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences. We bring together the world's leading experts in nearly every area of health. We are home to five Nobel laureates who have advanced the understanding of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, aging and stem cells.
   
   Pride Values
   
   UCSF is a diverse community made of people with many skills and talents. We seek candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence - also known as our PRIDE values.
   
   In addition to our PRIDE values, UCSF is committed to equity - both in how we deliver care as well as our workforce.We are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care.Additional information about UCSF is available at diversity.ucsf.edu
   
   Join us to find a rewarding career contributing to improving healthcare worldwide.
   
   Equal Employment Opportunity
   
   The University of California San Francisco is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right data research analyst for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with data research analysts they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit data research analysts who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your data research analyst job on Zippia to find and attract quality data research analyst candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting data research analysts requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new data research analyst

   Once you've found the data research analyst candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new data research analyst. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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