Research Fellow

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The role

An exciting opportunity for a Research Fellow in the Sociology Department at the Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences. (Fixed term contract upto September 2025)

Whom we interact with and relate to influences behaviours, happiness, economic participation and life expectancy, as well as structuring family dynamics, community cohesion and the wider society. But social science has little representative data about who interacts with whom in the UK or the implications of those interactions.

Social connection, interaction and network data are, however, challenging to collect. People might be reluctant to share contact information, leading to social desirability and non-response bias, and the cognitive burden of recording all social interactions might lead to participant boredom or withdrawal. Recent technologies, like apps and sensors when used to collect social interaction data, can be seen as intrusive and overbearing.

AESRC has recently funded the project Social Ties, Relationships, Interactions, Knowledge Exchange (STRIKE) as part of its Transforming Data Collections Infrastructure for the social sciences programme (https://strike-project.org.uk/).  STRIKE will identify and scope the data infrastructure needed to build a national picture of social interactions in the UK, building on recent developments in the online collection of time-use data, applying methodological innovation to collect information on online and face-to-face social contacts and the places and events where interactions occur.

About you

You should have a PhD (or be close to completing a PhD) in a relevant social science discipline such as political science, human geography, sociology, or equivalent relevant professional experience; have experience of using qualitative methods in research, including recruiting, conducting and analysing depth interviews and focus groups, and have experience of stakeholder engagement. You should be able to apply analytical frameworks, theories and concepts from the social sciences to research design. You will need excellent communication skills, including writing in an accessible way for various non-specialist audiences and have experience of disseminating research findings verbally and in writing to a wide range of audiences.

How to apply

Please submit your CV and Cover letter with your application on the university website. 

A copy of the research proposal to ESRC is available on request to the Principal Lead, Dr Corinna Elsenbroich, Corinna.Elsenbroich@glasgow.ac.uk

Further details

For more information and to apply online, please download the further details and click on the 'Apply' button above.

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