Loughborough University

Deadline: April 3, 2019

Job reference REQ190207

Location: Loughborough

Package: Specialist and Supporting Academic

Grade 6, £30,395 to £36,261 per annum, at a starting salary to be confirmed on offer of appointment. Subject to annual pay award.

Job description

School of Social Sciences, Loughborough University

Full-time fixed-term position for 24 months

The Department of Social Sciences is seeking to appoint a Research Associate to work with Dr Vaclav Stetka (PI) and Professor Sabina Mihelj (Co-I) on a new ESRC-funded research project "The Illiberal Turn? News Consumption, Political Polarization, and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe". Combining survey data, digital tracking of media consumption, as well as media diaries and qualitative interviews, the project will carry out a systematic study of news consumption and political polarization in Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Serbia, at a key point in time when the region is witnessing the rise of populist leaders, resurgence of illiberal nationalism, and a shift towards authoritarian forms of government.

The primary responsibilities of the Research Associate involve quantitative data collection, analysis and management. The researcher will participate in designing of a representative population survey and carry out analyses of the data, including the use of advanced statistical methods. The successful candidate will also assist in gathering of secondary data relevant for the understanding of political and media systems of the countries studied by the project, co-author some of the publications, contribute to impact activities, and lead on website and social media development. Proficiency in one of the local languages (Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Serbian) is an advantage.

The successful applicant for the this post will be an experienced researcher with postgraduate training in sociology, media/communication studies, political science or another related discipline (PhD, or very close to completion), and with an experience in quantitative social science methodologies, particularly surveys, as well as in quantitative data analysis, including advanced statistical techniques.

Informal enquiries should be made by email to Dr Vaclav Stetka, V.Stetka@lboro.ac.uk

Closing date: 3 April 2019

Interviews (including presentation) will be held on: 16 April 2019

Please follow this link for further details.