Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Political Inequality, Polarization, and Computational Social Science

The Department of Politics and IR, University of Reading welcomes applications for a full-time, 3-year Postdoctoral Research position in Political Inequality, Polarization, and Computational Social Science for the UKRI-funded project ‘DIVIDED: Inequality and Polarization Prevention’ (PI: Dr Miriam Sorace). Partners of the project include the London School of Economics (LSE) Data Science Institute (DSI), the UK Labour’s Party HQ Data and Insight team, Opinium, the European Election Studies, the social media company Meta. The successful candidate will spend a year at the LSE DSI, where they can avail of training and library resources, and be embedded into the LSE DSI industry networks and academic community.

We are seeking to appoint a highly motivated computational social scientist with demonstrable potential to produce exciting, innovative, and methodologically rigorous research in political economy/political behaviour, with very strong expertise in quantitative and computational methods. Advanced knowledge of and experience using R is required. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Political Science, Data Science, Economics, or a related field.

The post is based in the Department of Politics and IR, a department with internationally-recognised strengths in Comparative Politics, Political Theory, and IR. We came 6th highest in the UK for research outputs in the 2021 REF (when scoring by Output GPA) - see https://www.ref.ac.uk/.

Collaborating with the PI and Opinium to trial and test gamification in mass surveys, and conducting all necessary statistical and experimental analyses for the project;

• Assisting with data architecture and infrastructure, including collecting, cleaning, and organizing large datasets on economic inequality and social networks;
• Co-authoring in all academic and non-academic outputs from the project;
• Pursuing an exciting, ambitious, and innovative research agenda in political behaviour, political economy, and/or in survey and social science methodology;
• Pursuing Continuing Professional Development in research methods for the project, and optionally in areas like impact or teaching;
• Supporting colleagues by attending regular team meetings and providing academic/methodological advice as needed.

This is a full-time, temporary post (36 months), tenable soon after interview. To apply, please provide the names and contacts of 2 academic referees and send in your CV (including a section with working and published academic papers) and a cover letter (2-page maximum) in which you outline how you meet all criteria in the Person Specification.

Closing date - 7th January 2025
Interview date- 31st January 2025

Contact Name: Miriam Sorace
Contact Job Title: Associate Professor in Comparative Politics
Contact Email Address: m.sorace@reading.ac.uk

Alternative Contact Name: Adam Humphreys
Alternative Contact Job Title: Head of Department of Politics and International Relations
Alternative Contact Email Address: a.r.humphreys@reading.ac.uk

By reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship may be possible under the Skilled Worker Route. Applicants wishing to consider the SWR must ensure that they are able to meet the points requirement before applying. Successful candidates not already holding a Skilled Worker visa issued before 4th April 2024 will need to have a relevant PhD qualification or qualify as a new entrant before being able to be sponsored. There is further information about visas on the UK Visas and Immigration Website.

The University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce, supports the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and the Race Equality Charter, and champions LGBT+ equality. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.

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