Matthew Leitao

Every skill and its evidence

Filter by level, type, field, area, or year. Each entry says what I did and where it shows up in my record.

Every skill and its evidence

Have
I have done this work on my own or in a published project.
Developing
I use it in real work and am still building depth.

Hover over or tap a skill name to see its other names and what it covers.

Showing all 87 skills.

Study design

  • Theory and construct development Also referred to as Behavioral diagnosis; Mechanism development; Theory-driven intervention design Skill encompasses Conceptual models; Construct definition; Hypothesis formation

    Have

    I developed the theory behind a COVID-19 field study, a study of fans and their favorite characters, a review of smartphones and wellbeing, my thesis, and my dissertation.

    Where it shows up Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); Published study of fans and their favorite characters (project, 2022); Published review of smartphones and wellbeing (project, 2020); Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024)

  • Experimental design Also referred to as Randomized controlled experiments; Experiment design and measurement; Causal tests Skill encompasses Random assignment; Between-subjects designs; Vignettes; Manipulation checks; Cover stories

    Have

    I designed and ran six studies for my dissertation, with each plan registered in advance, and recruited more than 3,000 people. My master's thesis was a registered experiment with 305 participants.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); CSUN Applied Social Psychology Lab (role, 2017 to 2019)

  • Longitudinal and repeated-measures design Also referred to as Intensive longitudinal research; Diary and experience-sampling studies; Real-world behavioral measurement Skill encompasses Field studies; Lagged predictors; Adherence tracking

    Have

    I ran a 15-day behavior-change study with 560 people recruited and 455 retained. I also managed seven-day student diary studies, with about four surveys a day.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); Seven-day student diary studies (project, 2019 to 2023); Longitudinal and ambulatory methods workshops (training, 2021)

  • Causal and quasi-experimental methods Also referred to as Impact evaluation; Difference-in-differences; Propensity-score matching; Regression discontinuity Skill encompasses Randomized designs; Matching; Difference-in-differences; Regression discontinuity

    Have

    I matched comparison groups on records for more than 100,000 students and used difference-in-differences terms in my longitudinal studies. Graduate courses trained me in regression discontinuity and instrumental variables.

    Where it shows up Data analyst, CSUN Institutional Research (role, 2018 to 2019); Statistics and regression sequence (course, 2019 to 2020)

  • Crossover trial analysis Also referred to as Clinical outcomes analysis; Secondary analysis of a randomized trial Skill encompasses Drug and placebo comparisons; Order effects

    Have

    I am first author on a 2026 paper analyzing a randomized, double-blind crossover trial of a ghrelin-receptor blocker in 29 people with alcohol use disorder. The NIH team designed the trial. I ran the analysis and made the figures.

    Where it shows up Published analysis of a drug trial with a VR buffet (project, 2025 to 2026)

  • Mixed-methods program evaluation Also referred to as Program evaluation; Evaluation design; Mixed-methods research Skill encompasses Surveys; Focus groups; Interviews; Administrative data

    Have

    I evaluated a university summer-skills program with focus groups, surveys, and student outcome data. I presented the results at departmental meetings.

    Where it shows up Summer skills program evaluation at CSUN (role, 2018 to 2019)

  • Research synthesis Also referred to as Evidence synthesis; Literature review; Research agenda development Skill encompasses Theory integration; Evidence comparison

    Have

    I co-wrote a published review of how smartphones affect wellbeing. I synthesized the evidence for a COVID-19 social-contact paper and pooled the raw data from eight experiments.

    Where it shows up Published review of smartphones and wellbeing (project, 2020); Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024)

  • Open and reproducible research Also referred to as Transparent methods; Reproducible workflows; Open science Skill encompasses Preregistration; Public code and materials; Quarto reports

    Have

    I write my analysis plan down and register it publicly before I look at results. I share code and materials, and I co-founded a campus open-science group.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Open-science group and journal club (role, 2022 to 2024); Introduction to Open Science workshop (workshop i taught, 2022); Power Analysis workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023)

  • Digital behavior and technology effects Also referred to as Technology-use measurement; Digital wellbeing Skill encompasses Social connection; Sleep; Next-day depletion

    Have

    I studied how phone use relates to face-to-face connection, wellbeing and sleep, and how time with close and distant contacts online related to stress during COVID-19.

    Where it shows up Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Poster on screen time in bed and sleep (project, 2021); Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Published review of smartphones and wellbeing (project, 2020); Seven-day student diary studies (project, 2019 to 2023)

  • Applied memory and cognition research Also referred to as Cognitive research synthesis; Applied research proposals Skill encompasses Memory theory comparison; Experiment and grant proposals

    Developing

    In a graduate seminar, I turned theories of memory into a proposal for an applied study.

    Where it shows up Memory seminar (course, 2017)

  • Socio-technical systems analysis Also referred to as Deblackboxing technology; Systems and design thinking Skill encompasses AI and cloud systems; Social and policy dependencies

    Developing

    In a graduate course, I traced how AI, cloud, and data systems depend on people and policy, through essays, a group project, and a final project.

    Where it shows up AI to the Cloud course (course, 2021)

Measurement and participants

  • Survey and questionnaire development Also referred to as Survey design; Questionnaire programming; Qualtrics Skill encompasses Item writing; Piloting; Study launch and monitoring

    Have

    I built the surveys for every study I have run and programmed them in Qualtrics. I wrote items for a published survey of why people play games.

    Where it shows up Published survey of why people play games (project, 2025); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Summer skills program evaluation at CSUN (role, 2018 to 2019); Seven-day student diary studies (project, 2019 to 2023)

  • Scale development and psychometrics Also referred to as Measurement and validation; Instrument development; Factor analysis Skill encompasses Item analysis; EFA and CFA; Reliability and validity

    Have

    I built the trust measures for my dissertation and a scale of how close people feel to their smartphones (in preparation, first author). I contributed to a published survey of gaming motivation and a VR symptom questionnaire.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Smartphone closeness scale (in preparation) (project, 2019); Published survey of why people play games (project, 2025); Published study of a VR symptom questionnaire (project, 2020)

  • Participant recruitment Also referred to as Participant pipeline management; Panel research; Clinical recruitment support Skill encompasses In-person outreach; Research pools; Online panels; Scheduling and tracking

    Have

    I recruit in person, through university pools, and on MTurk, CloudResearch and Prolific. I also handle recruitment administration for an NIH clinical trial.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026)

  • Participant-centered communication Also referred to as Participant experience; Research communication Skill encompasses Clear instructions; Consent-sensitive communication

    Have

    I wrote the instructions and handled questions for general-public, student, online-panel and clinical-study participants.

    Where it shows up CSUN Applied Social Psychology Lab (role, 2017 to 2019); UC Riverside research labs (role, 2013 to 2017); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026)

  • Online-panel data quality Also referred to as Data quality screening; Fitness for use; Attention checks Skill encompasses Exclusions; Duplicate and bot screening

    Have

    I screen out inattentive and duplicate respondents. In a COVID-19 survey, 674 people consented and 569 completed it.

    Where it shows up Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Behavioral intervention measurement Also referred to as Digital-health intervention; Adherence measurement; Behavior-change outcomes Skill encompasses Baseline and follow-up; Repeated measurement

    Have

    I designed dissertation Study 6, which tracked trust, adherence, and behavior for 15 days. It showed no reliable difference between the doctor and AI conditions, and I reported it that way.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024)

  • Content and media coding Also referred to as Qualitative coding; Content analysis; Transcription Skill encompasses Video evaluation; Transcription; Emotional speech analysis

    Have

    I coded video for prejudice in media, transcribed focus groups, and analyzed emotional speech in earlier lab roles.

    Where it shows up UC Riverside research labs (role, 2013 to 2017); Summer skills program evaluation at CSUN (role, 2018 to 2019); Text and VR research lab at CSUN (role, 2018 to 2019)

Analysis

  • Regression and multilevel modeling Also referred to as Driver analysis; Predictor modeling; Nested-data analysis Skill encompasses Linear, logistic, ordinal, negative-binomial; Forward stepwise; Mixed-effects models; Person-mean centering

    Have

    I fit linear, logistic, ordinal, negative-binomial, and mixed-effects models. In one analysis I pooled eight experiments (1,778 people) into a single multilevel model.

    Where it shows up Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Longitudinal and ambulatory methods workshops (training, 2021)

  • Core statistical tests Also referred to as Hypothesis testing; Group comparison; Inferential statistics Skill encompasses t-tests; ANOVA and mixed ANOVA; Chi-square tests; Planned contrasts; Effect sizes

    Have

    I run t-tests, ANOVA, planned contrasts and chi-square tests, and I report effect sizes with them, in my thesis, my dissertation and my graduate statistics courses.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Statistics and regression sequence (course, 2019 to 2020)

  • Mediation and moderation Also referred to as Mechanism analysis; Subgroup and conditional effects; Pathway testing Skill encompasses Interaction terms; Planned contrasts; Causal mediation (ACME); Multilevel mediation; Dominance analysis

    Have

    I tested who is affected and why. My dissertation used a multilevel mediated-moderation model, and my generative AI preprint used causal mediation.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Published study of fans and their favorite characters (project, 2022)

  • Structural equation modeling Also referred to as Latent-variable modeling; Path analysis; Structural validity Skill encompasses CFA; Path models; Multi-group models; Mplus through R

    Have

    I built latent-variable path models for an award-winning data competition entry, replicated a published model in R for a graduate course, and ran Mplus models for my dissertation.

    Where it shows up CSUN Data Jam entries (project, 2017 to 2018); Latent variable analysis course (course, 2018); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024)

  • Power and sensitivity analysis Also referred to as Sample-size planning; Minimum detectable effect; Power analysis Skill encompasses A priori power planning; Sensitivity analysis

    Have

    I plan sample sizes before each study and check what each one can detect. I taught a power-analysis workshop in 2023.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Power Analysis workshop (workshop i taught, 2023)

  • Robustness checks Also referred to as Sensitivity checks; Specification-curve analysis; Trustworthy results Skill encompasses Bonferroni and Tukey corrections; Intent-to-treat; Deviation coding; Variance inflation checks

    Have

    In my generative AI research, I tested the main result across 69 alternative analyses, so the conclusion does not rest on one analysis choice.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024)

  • Blind outcome rating Also referred to as Independent evaluation; Quality scoring Skill encompasses Judges blind to condition; Quality-per-time ratio

    Have

    I designed blind ratings for my generative AI preprint. Judges who did not know the condition rated the work, and I compared quality with time spent.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Cross-study data integration Also referred to as Data harmonization; Dataset standardization; Pooled analysis Skill encompasses Study indicators; Sensitivity checks

    Have

    I pooled eight experiments for a published analysis. Along the way I found and removed 173 placeholder rows.

    Where it shows up Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024)

  • Data cleaning and quality control Also referred to as Data wrangling; Data integrity; Analysis-ready data Skill encompasses Exclusions; Missing-data review; Variable harmonization

    Have

    I prepared the data for a study of fans and their favorite characters, for the pooled analysis, and for more than 100,000 student records.

    Where it shows up Published study of fans and their favorite characters (project, 2022); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Data analyst, CSUN Institutional Research (role, 2018 to 2019); Study of genetic risk in virtual doctor visits (project, 2026)

  • Data visualization and dashboards Also referred to as Self-serve dashboards; Decision-support reporting; Tableau Skill encompasses ggplot; Tableau; Figures for stakeholders

    Have

    I built Tableau dashboards that department chairs and administrators used each semester, and I made the figures for my generative AI preprint and this website.

    Where it shows up Data analyst, CSUN Institutional Research (role, 2018 to 2019); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Published analysis of a drug trial with a VR buffet (project, 2025 to 2026); This research website (project, 2026)

  • Bayesian inference Also referred to as Bayes factors; Evidence for null effects Skill encompasses Bayesian t-tests; Bayes factors

    Have

    I use Bayes factors and Bayesian t-tests to show how strongly the data support a null result. They appear in my generative AI preprint and on the Studies 1 and 2 pages of this site.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Latent profile analysis Also referred to as Person-centered analysis; Segmentation Skill encompasses Latent profiles

    Developing

    I completed a 2023 workshop on latent profile analysis, a method that sorts people into groups by their pattern of answers.

    Where it shows up Latent profile analysis workshop (training, 2023)

  • Machine learning and prediction Also referred to as Predictive modeling; Classifiers; Model evaluation Skill encompasses Trees, SVM, KNN, Naive Bayes; Cross-validation; ROC and confusion matrices; App-usage prediction

    Developing

    I built and tested classifiers in an end-to-end Python project for a graduate course, and I presented a poster on predicting app use.

    Where it shows up Data science for public policy (course, 2021); Poster on predicting app use (project, 2019)

  • Economic and cost-benefit analysis Also referred to as Policy appraisal; Cost-benefit analysis Skill encompasses Market failure; Public goods; Social insurance

    Developing

    I applied cost-benefit and market-failure analysis to policy questions in two graduate economics courses.

    Where it shows up Microeconomics courses (course, 2019 to 2020)

Code and tools

  • R, Stata and SPSS Also referred to as Statistical computing; Reproducible analytics; Research automation Skill encompasses R and RStudio; Stata; SPSS; Mplus; Jamovi and JASP; Quarto

    Have

    R is my main language for modeling, figures and teaching. I used Stata across a graduate sequence in regression and program evaluation.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Published analysis of a drug trial with a VR buffet (project, 2025 to 2026); Published study of social contact during COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2021); Statistics and regression sequence (course, 2019 to 2020); R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Introduction to R and Quarto at NIH (workshop i taught, 2025)

  • Cloud and API experiment engineering Also referred to as Prototype research tools; Model and API integration; Cloud-hosted data collection Skill encompasses ChatGPT API; AWS; Qualtrics randomization

    Have

    I host research tasks in the cloud and connect them to survey software. For one study, AWS linked Qualtrics to the ChatGPT API and stored each prompt and response.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Text analysis with dictionaries Also referred to as Psychological text analysis; LIWC; Text-similarity metrics Skill encompasses LIWC; Cosine, Jaccard and Sørensen-Dice similarity

    Have

    I ran LIWC text analysis at a university lab in 2018 and 2019. In my generative AI preprint, I compared human and AI writing with similarity scores.

    Where it shows up Text and VR research lab at CSUN (role, 2018 to 2019); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Text analytics workshop (training, 2023)

  • Web, design and automation tools Also referred to as Workflow automation; Light web development Skill encompasses HTML5 and JavaScript; LaTeX; WordPress; Canva; Excel macros; Praat scripts

    Have

    I wrote Excel macros and Praat scripts in earlier lab work. I build web pages, slides, and posters, including mrleitao.com and this site.

    Where it shows up UC Riverside research labs (role, 2013 to 2017); Personal website, mrleitao.com (project, 2024 to 2026); This research website (project, 2026)

  • Modern text analysis Also referred to as Natural language processing; Embeddings; Topic models Skill encompasses TF-IDF; Bag of words; Language-model coding

    Developing

    I took a 2023 text-analytics workshop and a graduate course on word-frequency methods (TF-IDF) and language processing.

    Where it shows up Text analytics workshop (training, 2023); Data science for public policy (course, 2021); AI to the Cloud course (course, 2021); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Python Also referred to as Applied research computing; pandas and scikit-learn Skill encompasses Pandas; Jupyter; Web scraping; APIs; scikit-learn

    Developing

    I used pandas, Jupyter, web scraping, and scikit-learn in a graduate data-science course. R is the language I use daily.

    Where it shows up Data science for public policy (course, 2021)

  • SQL Also referred to as Data access; Querying data warehouses Skill encompasses Queries; Joins

    Developing

    I am building SQL skills through structured self-directed practice on DataLemur and Mode Analytics, and by translating my R code into SQL.

    Where it shows up No project, role or course tied to it yet.

  • Geospatial analysis Also referred to as ArcGIS; Open government data Skill encompasses ArcGIS; Open county data

    Developing

    I mapped open Los Angeles County data in ArcGIS for a 2018 data competition entry.

    Where it shows up CSUN Data Jam entries (project, 2017 to 2018)

AI and human behavior

  • Human-AI trust and reliance research Also referred to as Human-AI decision processes; Calibrated trust; Over-trust Skill encompasses Trust; Reliance; Anthropomorphism; Autonomy; Weight-on-Advice

    Have

    My six-study dissertation compares trust in doctors and medical AI. It measures reliance by how far people move their own answer toward the advice.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Study of choice and the use of outside judgments (project, 2023)

  • Human-AI collaboration experiments Also referred to as Evaluating AI-assisted workflows; Human-AI collaboration; Worker experience Skill encompasses Draft versus edit; Ownership; Engagement

    Have

    I am co-first author on a preprint with two experiments (1,299 people) on drafting with generative AI versus editing its output. Work quality was similar. How people experienced the work was not.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Obedience to computer authority Also referred to as Socio-technical research; Compliance with automated instructions Skill encompasses Text-to-speech versus human voice; Perceived sophistication

    Have

    My master's thesis (305 participants) tested whether people obey computer instructors as readily as human ones. People obeyed both about equally, and I reported the null result.

    Where it shows up Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019)

  • Health and risk communication research Also referred to as Risk communication; Patient-centered research; Health beliefs Skill encompasses Genetic-risk interpretation; Virtual patients; Demographic cues

    Have

    I study how people read genetic-risk information. On a virtual-patient project (200 participants), I collected, cleaned, and analyzed the data.

    Where it shows up Study of genetic risk in virtual doctor visits (project, 2026); NIH study protocol on genomic results and AI review (project, 2026); Accepted paper on beliefs about genes and body weight (project, 2026); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024)

Leading and operating

  • Research program management Also referred to as Portfolio management; Prioritizing concurrent workstreams; Study coordination Skill encompasses Sequencing; Delegation; Milestone tracking

    Have

    I managed six to seven projects at once at Georgetown with a student team, and I now support six NIH projects.

    Where it shows up Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026)

  • Study operations Also referred to as Study coordination; Fieldwork management Skill encompasses Survey builds; Launches and monitoring; Data handoffs

    Have

    I run studies from ethics approval through launch, monitoring and data handoff, for my own projects and for NIH collaborators.

    Where it shows up Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026); CSUN Applied Social Psychology Lab (role, 2017 to 2019)

  • Supervising and mentoring Also referred to as People management; Delegation; Mentoring and coaching Skill encompasses Training; Monitoring; Honors thesis advising

    Have

    I have supervised research assistants since 2017, on teams of up to 15. I guided an honors thesis and served as a graduate mentor for a national psychology society.

    Where it shows up CSUN Applied Social Psychology Lab (role, 2017 to 2019); UC Riverside research labs (role, 2013 to 2017); Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023); Honors thesis and student mentoring (role, 2021 to 2023)

  • Research governance Also referred to as Compliance; Protocol development; IRB management Skill encompasses Human-subjects procedures; Protocol preparation

    Have

    I wrote and managed ethics-board protocols at two universities and support regulated clinical-study administration at NIH.

    Where it shows up Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023); CSUN Applied Social Psychology Lab (role, 2017 to 2019); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026)

  • Clinical-study administration Also referred to as Regulated study operations; Clinical recruitment support Skill encompasses Recruitment tracking; Study coordination

    Have

    I support participant recruitment for an NIH clinical trial that tests a drug.

    Where it shows up NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026); Published analysis of a drug trial with a VR buffet (project, 2025 to 2026)

  • Recruitment operations Also referred to as Research-pool administration; Yield monitoring Skill encompasses Channel selection; Research-pool rules

    Have

    I coordinated the Georgetown research participant pool and combined in-person, university and online recruitment.

    Where it shows up Georgetown participant pool coordinator (role, 2021 to 2023); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026)

  • Workflow and process improvement Also referred to as Standardizing recurring work; Process improvement; Operational documentation Skill encompasses Templates; Standard displays; Process documentation

    Have

    I redesigned parts of the Georgetown participant pool, and research yield rose 50% over the previous year. I also built reusable lab templates.

    Where it shows up Georgetown participant pool coordinator (role, 2021 to 2023)

  • Grants and budgets Also referred to as Proposal development; Budget development; Grantsmanship Skill encompasses Specific aims; Budgets; Timelines

    Have

    I won three named grants and fellowships, and I wrote the budgets and timelines for my funded and independent research.

    Where it shows up Grants and fellowships (role, 2014 to 2021)

  • Grant-proposal writing Also referred to as Proposal writing; Short-form grant writing Skill encompasses Specific aims; Significance; Research design

    Developing

    I wrote full proposals in graduate seminars, including a three-study program, and I presented grant literature at a university lab.

    Where it shows up Research methodology seminar (course, 2018); Mind, Brain and Education course (course, 2020); Text and VR research lab at CSUN (role, 2018 to 2019)

  • Policy analysis and memos Also referred to as Policy recommendations; Data governance; Briefings Skill encompasses Policy memos; Congressional testimony project; Options and recommendations

    Have

    I served on the task force whose recommendation on storing and showing gender identity and pronouns became policy. I also served on the committee behind making the GRE optional at Georgetown. In graduate work I wrote policy memos and testimony.

    Where it shows up Gender identity and pronoun task force (role, 2021 to 2022); Georgetown diversity committee and GRE initiative (role, 2020 to 2022); Policy process, management and ethics courses (course, 2019 to 2021)

  • Consultative analysis Also referred to as Internal consulting; Client-oriented analysis Skill encompasses Semi-structured interviews; Management reports

    Developing

    With a self-managed team, I interviewed an organization and wrote a 20 to 30 page consulting report in a graduate course.

    Where it shows up Policy process, management and ethics courses (course, 2019 to 2021)

Teaching and communicating

  • Curriculum and course design Also referred to as Instructional design; Backward design; Active learning Skill encompasses Assessment design; Peer review; Scaffolded assignments

    Have

    I designed and taught Psychology of Technology as instructor of record. It won Georgetown's 2023 Graduate Student Teaching Award.

    Where it shows up Psychology of Technology course (teaching, 2022); Research Methods teaching fellow (teaching, 2021)

  • Teaching across settings Also referred to as Training delivery; Tutoring; Guest lecturing Skill encompasses University recitation; Test prep; Guest lectures

    Have

    I have taught at Georgetown, CSUN and Kaplan, led recitations, tutored, and given guest lectures in people analytics and learning analytics.

    Where it shows up Psychology of Technology course (teaching, 2022); Research Methods teaching fellow (teaching, 2021); Teaching assistant roles (teaching, 2017 to 2023); Kaplan research methods (teaching, 2022); Guest lectures (teaching, 2020 to 2023)

  • Workshop design and facilitation Also referred to as Technical enablement; Capability building; Training delivery Skill encompasses Hands-on instruction; Reusable materials

    Have

    I taught workshops on power analysis, R and open science, then Introduction to R and Quarto at NIH.

    Where it shows up Introduction to Open Science workshop (workshop i taught, 2022); R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Power Analysis workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Introduction to R and Quarto at NIH (workshop i taught, 2025)

  • Documentation and reusable resources Also referred to as Knowledge products; Operational documentation Skill encompasses Open materials; Templates; Training guides

    Have

    I made public R, Quarto and power-analysis materials on OSF and lab templates that others can reuse.

    Where it shows up R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Power Analysis workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Open-science group and journal club (role, 2022 to 2024); Personal website, mrleitao.com (project, 2024 to 2026); This research website (project, 2026)

  • Scientific writing Also referred to as Research writing; Authoring for publication Skill encompasses Manuscripts; Thesis and dissertation

    Have

    I wrote all of my thesis and dissertation, and I contributed writing to several published papers.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); Published study of fans and their favorite characters (project, 2022); Published review of smartphones and wellbeing (project, 2020); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Technical translation Also referred to as Data storytelling; Research storytelling; Communicating to non-technical audiences Skill encompasses Audience adaptation; Recommendations

    Have

    I turn statistics into plain recommendations for papers, talks, dashboards, workshops and policy discussions.

    Where it shows up Data analyst, CSUN Institutional Research (role, 2018 to 2019); Psychology of Technology course (teaching, 2022); R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Power Analysis workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Personal website, mrleitao.com (project, 2024 to 2026); This research website (project, 2026)

  • Public science communication Also referred to as Popular-press writing; Science communication Skill encompasses Nonexpert audiences; Policy and business implications

    Have

    I taught students to write a magazine-style article from a research paper, and I explain my own work in plain words on this site.

    Where it shows up Psychology of Technology course (teaching, 2022); Mind, Brain and Education course (course, 2020); Session chair and invited talks (teaching, 2023 to 2024); Personal website, mrleitao.com (project, 2024 to 2026); This research website (project, 2026)

  • Talks and speaking Also referred to as Presenting to leadership; Public science communication Skill encompasses Session chairing; Invited talks; Posters

    Have

    I chaired a 2024 conference session on AI, and gave invited talks at the University of Virginia and a film festival.

    Where it shows up Session chair and invited talks (teaching, 2023 to 2024); Study of choice and the use of outside judgments (project, 2023)

AI integration

  • Building with LLM APIs Also referred to as LLM integration; Generative AI prototyping; AI-enabled research tools Skill encompasses ChatGPT API; Amazon cloud services (AWS); Qualtrics randomization; Prompt and response handling

    Have

    I built the task for my generative AI preprint on the ChatGPT API. Each participant got a live AI response, and every exchange was logged.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • AI-assisted analysis and coding Also referred to as AI-assisted data science; Code generation and review; Analysis automation Skill encompasses GenAI-generated specification curve; AI-assisted figures and site code; Checking AI output against the data

    Have

    I used generative AI to run 69 alternative analyses of the main result in my generative AI research. I also use it to build code and figures, including this website, and I check its output against the data.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); This research website (project, 2026)

  • AI workflow automation Also referred to as AI-enabled process automation; Workflow orchestration; Internal tooling Skill encompasses Written rules and project files for an AI assistant; Scoring and triage workflows; Small custom apps

    Have

    I built a job-search workflow around an AI assistant, with written rules, a scoring scheme, and daily triage. I also build small tools of my own, such as a task-priority app.

    Where it shows up AI-assisted job search workflow (project, 2026); Custom productivity tools (project, 2026); This research website (project, 2026)

  • Evaluating AI output Also referred to as Human evaluation of AI; AI quality measurement; Model output review Skill encompasses Blind third-party ratings; Quality and time comparisons; Text-similarity measures

    Have

    I designed blind ratings for my generative AI preprint. Judges who did not know the condition scored the work, and I compared quality, time, and how closely people's text matched the AI's.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

Ownership and leadership

  • Ownership Also referred to as Led end to end; Accountable for delivery

    Have

    I carried my thesis and six-study dissertation from the first question through design, recruitment, analysis and writing.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019)

  • Project leadership Also referred to as Led parallel workstreams; Coordinated delivery

    Have

    I built a student team, delegated work, and kept six to seven projects moving at once.

    Where it shows up Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026)

  • People leadership Also referred to as Supervised and trained staff; Delegated and monitored work

    Have

    I have supervised research assistants since 2017. My teams reached 14 to 15 people.

    Where it shows up UC Riverside research labs (role, 2013 to 2017); CSUN Applied Social Psychology Lab (role, 2017 to 2019); Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023)

  • Prioritization Also referred to as Sequencing competing demands

    Have

    I handed off secondary projects to protect my dissertation deadlines and kept the wider research moving.

    Where it shows up Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023)

  • Mentorship and development Also referred to as Mentored; Developed capability

    Have

    I guided an undergraduate honors project from start to finish and supported a former student's conference project.

    Where it shows up Honors thesis and student mentoring (role, 2021 to 2023)

Collaboration and communication

  • Team science Also referred to as Collaborated across disciplines; Integrated expertise

    Have

    I work with teams in psychology, medicine, genomics, policy, business and clinical research, and completed formal team-science training.

    Where it shows up Team science workshop (training, 2025); NIH postdoctoral fellowship (role, 2024 to 2026); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Published analysis of a drug trial with a VR buffet (project, 2025 to 2026)

  • Stakeholder communication Also referred to as Engaged stakeholders; Adapted communication

    Have

    I represented graduate students to faculty, answered participants, and explained results to learners, administrators and collaborators.

    Where it shows up Data analyst, CSUN Institutional Research (role, 2018 to 2019); Georgetown diversity committee and GRE initiative (role, 2020 to 2022); Georgetown participant pool coordinator (role, 2021 to 2023)

  • Facilitation Also referred to as Facilitated discussion; Enabled participation

    Have

    I ran workshops, guest lectures, a journal club and class discussions, and set the rules for respectful disagreement in my course.

    Where it shows up R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Introduction to Open Science workshop (workshop i taught, 2022); Power Analysis workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Open-science group and journal club (role, 2022 to 2024); Psychology of Technology course (teaching, 2022)

  • Collaborative authorship Also referred to as Clarified roles; Credited contributions

    Have

    I have worked as first, co-first, middle and contributing author across labs and spelled out each contribution.

    Where it shows up Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026); Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); Published survey of why people play games (project, 2025); Published analysis of a drug trial with a VR buffet (project, 2025 to 2026)

  • Advocacy and representation Also referred to as Represented; Advised

    Have

    I served on the diversity committee and data-governance task force and brought student needs and evidence into policy discussions.

    Where it shows up Georgetown diversity committee and GRE initiative (role, 2020 to 2022); Gender identity and pronoun task force (role, 2021 to 2022)

  • Audience awareness Also referred to as Tailored content; Designed for users

    Have

    I design participant instructions, course assignments and technical materials for readers with different backgrounds.

    Where it shows up Psychology of Technology course (teaching, 2022); R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024)

Judgment and integrity

  • Methodological judgment Also referred to as Fit-for-purpose research judgment

    Have

    I match the analysis to the question: count models for counts, multilevel models for nested data, scale methods for measures, causal designs for cause.

    Where it shows up Paper under review on risk-taking early in COVID-19 (project, 2020 to 2022); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Preprint on employees working with generative AI (project, 2026)

  • Honest reporting Also referred to as Reported results candidly; Scientific integrity

    Have

    I reported null results as nulls in my thesis and in dissertation Study 6, disclosed changes to my plans, and stated the limits of each design.

    Where it shows up Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024); Published analysis pooling eight phone experiments (project, 2020 to 2024); Study of choice and the use of outside judgments (project, 2023)

  • Learning from null results Also referred to as Refined hypotheses; Adapted study design

    Have

    After my thesis null result, I studied what it implies for authority in new situations. Each dissertation study refined the one before.

    Where it shows up Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Dissertation, six studies (project, 2019 to 2024)

  • Ethical judgment Also referred to as Surfaced tradeoffs; Defined decision criteria

    Have

    I weigh evidence against values, rights and fairness in policy work, and studied privacy, accountability and bias in data courses.

    Where it shows up Policy process, management and ethics courses (course, 2019 to 2021); AI to the Cloud course (course, 2021)

  • Ethical risk assessment Also referred to as Assessed participant risk; Designed with safeguards

    Have

    My studies involved deception, participant discomfort, clinical samples, and genetic-risk data. I examined cases where trust in AI is too high or too low.

    Where it shows up Master's thesis on computer authority (project, 2018 to 2019); Study of genetic risk in virtual doctor visits (project, 2026); NIH study protocol on genomic results and AI review (project, 2026)

  • Systems thinking Also referred to as Mapped dependencies; Designed systems

    Have

    In the participant pool I connected participant experience, researcher needs, recruitment rules and course credit into one system.

    Where it shows up Georgetown participant pool coordinator (role, 2021 to 2023)

Learning and adapting

  • Initiative and community building Also referred to as Established; Launched; Convened

    Have

    I co-founded an open-science group and a journal club and started workshops that keep running.

    Where it shows up Open-science group and journal club (role, 2022 to 2024); Introduction to Open Science workshop (workshop i taught, 2022); R From Scratch workshop (workshop i taught, 2023)

  • Adaptability Also referred to as Adapted delivery; Navigated change

    Have

    I moved research, teaching and collaboration online during the pandemic and kept delivering.

    Where it shows up Georgetown research team, six to seven projects (role, 2019 to 2023); Research Methods teaching fellow (teaching, 2021)

  • Continuous learning Also referred to as Built capability; Adopted new methods

    Have

    I trained in management, team science, latent profiles, text analytics and longitudinal methods, then used them where I could.

    Where it shows up NIH management course (training, 2026); Team science workshop (training, 2025); Latent profile analysis workshop (training, 2023); Text analytics workshop (training, 2023); Longitudinal and ambulatory methods workshops (training, 2021)