A research assistant is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 or a research institute, for the purpose of assisting in academic research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

. Research assistants are not independent and not directly responsible for the outcome of the research and are responsible to a supervisor or principal investigator. Research assistants are often educated to degree level and might be enrolled in a postgraduate degree

Postgraduate education

Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...

  programme.

Undergraduate and Post-doctoral level

Although a research assistant is normally appointed at graduate level, so-called undergraduate research assistant are also sometimes appointed to support research.

Similarly a postdoctoral research assistant who has recently been awarded a doctoral degree, may hold a temporary appointment as a research assistant, especially for position without any autonomy and research independence that requires a high degree of reliability.

Clinical research assistant

A clinical research assistant is employed by a hospital or medical research centre, who is involved in the administration of clinical trials. He or she may assist a senior investigator with recruiting and enrolling research subjects, as well as with correspondence and grant applications.