[Commlist] Vacancy: Postdoc Researcher Focusing on Advancing Computational Communication Research Methods

/Assistant professor/

Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR

University of Amsterdam

Visiting address: Nieuwe Achtergracht 166 | 1018 WV Amsterdam | The 
Netherlands

Postal address: P.O. Box 15791 | 1001 NG Amsterdam | The Netherlands
page1image57470208 (j.strycharz /at/ uva.nl) <mailto:(j.strycharz /at/ uva.nl)>
page1image57470976  +31 (0)6 28804042

www.ascor.uva.nl <http://www.ascor.uva.nl>  | www.uva-icds.net 
<http://www.uva-icds.net>

*Posting*

Postdoc Researcher Focusing on Advancing Computational Communication 
Research Methods

The Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) is looking for a 
2-year post-doctoral researcher for the Digital Communication Methods 
Lab(www.digicomlab.eu). The Lab focuses on innovative research and 
bringing together existing and new projects with digital communication 
methods as its cornerstone.

This postdoctoral position focuses on research aimed at advancing 
computational methods for communication science (e.g., automated content 
analysis). Technological advancements enable communication scientists to 
collect different types of data (e.g., through scraping social media 
data, gathering data through digital agents, receiving data through data 
donations). Introduction of these novel data collection methods results 
in availability of large quantities of data that come in various formats 
(e.g., text data, visual data). This brings on methodological challenges 
of analyzing such data. In sum, communication researchers now have a 
broad range of novel computational methods at their disposal to gather 
and analyze large amounts of data that vary in their format. However, 
there is a lack of knowledge about the usage and validity of these 
methods. For example, whereas some algorithms are available to analyze 
visual data, these algorithms have not been validated on data relevant 
to communication scholars. This postdoctoral position will contribute to 
advancing the Lab's methodological and substantive research in this area 
by conducting research that advances and validates methods aimed at 
gathering and analyzing data that are relevant to communication scholars.

What are you going to do?

You will conduct research on the advancement of computational research 
methods for communication science. This research should be predominantly 
methodological in nature, that is make use of, develop, and validate 
state-of-the-art digital communication methods to gather and analyze 
textual and visual data (for example digital trace data)-- thus, making 
a strong substantive contribution for Communication Science. You will 
also contribute to lab's work in stimulating use of novel computational 
methods to gather and analyze communication data among faculty members.

You will:

*          Develop, conduct, and publish research on the advancement of 
computational research methods;

*          Identify the needs of faculty members in terms of required 
support when working with computational methods and initiate the 
development of required infrastructures;

*          Be a go to-person for faculty members who have questions 
about computational and digital methods (for example by supporting 
faculty members and by hosting workshops);

*          Contribute to the Digicomlab by organizing events, research 
meetings, and general activities;

*          Collaborate with other faculty members within the lab;

*          Contribute to new grant applications;

*          Co-supervise research projects of students working on 
relevant topics;

*          The above tasks are for 0.75fte. Pending on departmental need 
and the background and preference of the candidate, an additional 
0.25fte will be allocated to teaching.

What do you have to offer:

*          You are a team player who can work independently;

*          A clear research interest in the topic of the position 
(documented by publications and/or grant applications);

*          You have strong communication skills;

*          You enjoy bringing together people with different research 
interests through events about research methods;

*          Interest in computational methods as witnessed by relevant 
publications.

Your experience and profile:

*          You have a relevant background in computational social 
science, communication science, social science, data science or similar;

*          You have strong methodological skills in computational social 
science or related fields, as demonstrated by relevant research papers. 
This includes skills in programming (e.g., Python and R) and, more 
broadly, the application of computational methods for the collection 
and/or analysis of digital communication data (e.g., digital trace data);

*          You have experience with organizing workshops, lecture 
series, or other events that facilitate knowledge dissemination and 
valorization;

*          You have excellent written and spoken command of English, as 
demonstrated by publications in English-language journals (written and 
spoken command of Dutch is a plus);

*          You have a relevant PhD degree.

What can we offer you?

The position concerns employment of 28.5 hours per week for a maximum 
term of 2 years with a probationary period of two months. Depending on 
your experience, the minimum salary is €3974 and the maximum salary is 
€5439 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, in keeping with 
salary scale 11x, as per the Collective Labour Agreement of 
Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary 
benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. 
The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional 
development and education.

What else do we offer:

*          a position in which initiative and input are highly valued;

*          an enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues;

*          an inspiring academic and international working environment 
in the heart of Amsterdam.

About us

The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the 
Netherlands, with the broadest spectrum of degree programmes. It is an 
intellectual hub with 39.000 students, 6.000 employees and 3.000 
doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.

A challenging work environment with a variety of duties and ample scope 
for individual initiative and development within an inspiring 
organization. The social and behavioral sciences play a leading role in 
addressing the major societal challenges faced by the world, the 
Netherlands and Amsterdam, now and in the future.

Want to know more about our organization? Read more about working at the 
University of Amsterdam.

Questions

Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? 
Please contactdr. Joanna Strycharz ((j.strycharz /at/ uva.nl)) or dr. Marthe 
Möller ((a.m.moller /at/ uva.nl)).

Does the vacancy appeal to you? Then we look forward to receiving your 
application/motivation letter and resume in one .pdf by 29 January 2023.

Applications in 1 bundled .pdf should include:

*          a curriculum vitae;

*          a letter of motivation;

*          the names of two people who can provide a letter of reference 
for your application.

The application should be submitted online 
[https://vacatures.uva.nl/UvA/job/Postdoc-Researcher-Focusing-on-Advancing-Methods-for-Multi-Modal-Automated-Content-Analysis/761538502/].

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