Research Associate: Digital Technology, Trust and Electoral Regulation

Contract Type: Fixed-term for 3 years

Faculty: Faculty of Social Science

Location: The Wave 

This post offers the chance to work alongside Professor Kate Dommett on a range of ongoing research projects focused on digital technology, trust, and electoral campaigning regulation. 

The primary focus of this post is the newly awarded Trans-Atlantic Partnership Grant entitled ‘The Potential of Digital: Optimising Trustworthy Digital Contact’. The successful candidate will join an international research team, contributing to ongoing work on digital technology, democracy, and trust. The successful candidate will be responsible for conducting interviews with political elites and contributing to an exciting opportunity to conduct a field experiment. 

In addition, the successful candidate will have the chance to collaborate with Professor Dommett on an ongoing project with the UK Electoral Commission, looking at the regulation of digital campaigning. This work has most recently focused on the implementation of digital imprints, but also includes work examining how digital technology and machine learning could enhance electoral oversight. Working alongside Professor Dommett, the successful candidate will have the chance to engage in knowledge exchange activity, conducting rapid response and public facing research.  

We are looking for someone with a PhD, or with alternative equivalent experience. You will have a strong interest in digital technology, democracy, trust and electoral regulation. You will have experience of quantitative and experimental methodologies, as well as qualitative research techniques. You will have considerable organisational skills and a willingness to adapt and take on new tasks. You will need to work independently, and as a part of a wider team, and will be working particularly closely with Professor Kate Dommett and Dr James Weinberg.  

As part of this post, we are committed to providing training, mentoring and support to develop the successful candidate’s skills and will help you advance your own career goals. 

This post is fixed-term for 3 years, with a negotiable start date in January 2025.

Enquiries about the position should be directed to Professor Kate Dommett, at k.dommett@sheffield.ac.uk.

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