Postdoctoral Position in Political Science - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Linguistic Explorations of Societies (LES) is an innovative research project, seated at the Mid Sweden University. The project cuts across the disciplines of political science, social science, computer science and computational linguistics. LES draws on recent developments in natural language processing to meet the challenges facing the changing landscape of comparative survey research.

Using language technology in conjunction with online text data from a large number of languages and countries, we address issues of survey item comparability and measurement equivalence in cross-cultural surveys with a particular focus on survey translations. Assessing possibilities and challenges related to data distribution and access, availability and representativity of data sources as well as data ownership and privacy, we seek to provide a state-of-the-art account on how to use online text data in relation to existing survey data.

Our interdisciplinary research team include researchers from Mid Sweden University, University of Gothenburg, the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), Södertörn University, the University of Bergen, GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, and the University of Toronto.

Duties: The position includes to actively, independently as well as in collaborations, explore innovative ways to work with triangulations between different sources of text data retrieved from online media platforms and open-ended survey responses.  The overarching aim of the project and the position is to find ways of assessing the validity and reliability of online text data in relation to public opinion research. The project is country comparative and utilize multiple languages and text data sources.        

Qualifications: Documented experience of programming and automated text analysis as well as practice from working with comparative survey data. Previous experience of similar tasks is particularly meritorious, e.g. automated text analysis, topic modeling and language classifications. Preferred programming languages are Python and R. Documented experience of statistics software such as Stata and excellent knowledge of Microsoft Excel are also meritorious.

Required qualifications and selection criteria: The applicant must hold a PhD degree or a foreign qualification deemed equivalent to a PhD, obtained no more than three years prior to the application due date; however, for example, periods of sick leave or parental leave can be deducted from the three-year period. This position requires a PhD in political science, or for the project related areas such as computational social science, or language technology.

The work requires great accuracy and the ability to work independently and fluent language skills in English and Swedish. The post-doc is expected to be a good communicator within the project team as well as being able to communicate results and research methodology in an accessible and coherent way given the fact that LES is an interdisciplinary research program.

Employment: Temporary position 12 months with possibility to extension, after application, for an additional 12-month period.

Location: Östersund, with possibilities to work on remote. There are possibilities for co-location with the RISE team in Kista, Stockholm.

Starting date: Subject to agreement.

Salary: Individually negotiated salary.

For further information about the position, please contact: Professor Stefan Dahlberg, stefan.dahlberg@miun.se, +46 (0)70 363 86 58. For information about the Department, please contact Head of Department Pär Olausson, par.olausson@miun.se, +46-10 142 85 47 or Deputy Head of Department Glenn Svedin, glenn.svedin@miun.se, +46 (0)10 142 82 47.

The application must contain the following:

• A motivation letter, which states your reasons for applying, qualifications in relation to the position, and visions for the position.
• A current curriculum vitae.
• Copies of relevant diplomas (MA and/or MSc and PhD).
• Scientific qualifications. A complete list of publications must be attached with an indication of the works you wish to be considered. You may choose up to 5 publications.
• References and/or recommendations.

Please apply via our recruitment management system no later than 2021-07-23.

RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) is Sweden’s research institute and innovation partner. RISE has a long history of recognized high-quality research and commissioned activities in all divisions. RISE is a non-profit institute. The head office is located in Gothenburg, but our employees are located all over Sweden (for more information on Rise, see www.ri.se/en/about-rise)