Post Doctoral Associate - Computational Social Science

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Post Doctoral Associate - Computational social scientist focused on social media

Position description:

The Climate Accountability Lab headed by Prof. Geoffrey Supran at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science has a funded opening for a full-time postdoctoral researcher in the area of computational social science focused on social media. The researcher will work on interdisciplinary research projects computationally analyzing textual and audiovisual data on social media and other digital platforms, with a focus on climate change narratives and social networks. The research will leverage large-scale advertising and media messaging datasets and is ideal for individuals with strong backgrounds in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, Communication Science, Psychology, or quantitative Political Science, History of Science, and Sociology.

The researcher will be part of a growing team of graduate and postgraduate colleagues and will collaborate with computer scientists at the Algorithmic Transparency Institute (a project of the National Conference on Citizenship) and other academic and non-profit organizations on data collection, analysis, academic reporting, website development, and other public outreach and engagement.

Key responsibilities:

• Design and execute large-scale data collection strategies from social media and other digital platforms using APIs, web scraping, and other proprietary techniques.

• Develop, test, and evaluate algorithms and software, including Large Language Models, to analyze social media data, with a focus on the volume, content, communication patterns, and effects of media messaging concerning climate change.

• Prepare peer-reviewed articles, white paper reports, and presentations.

• Collaborate with colleagues to design and build interactive websites and/or dashboards to publicly communicate research insights.

• Contribute to grant proposals and other funding opportunities. 

• No mandatory teaching duties.

Required qualifications:

• Minimum educational qualification is a PhD or equivalent in fields including but not limited to Computational Social Science, Data Science, Computer Science, Political Science, Communication Science, quantitative History of Science, Sociology, Psychology, and other fields related to social media data mining.

• Strong capabilities in relevant research methods, which could include social network analysis, statistical analysis (such as multinomial logistic regression, structural equation modeling, vector autoregression, and cross-lagged panel analysis); open-ended data mining; applied machine learning including Natural Language Processing, Large Language Models, and image recognition; web scraping; and API interaction.

• Demonstrated proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R, or similar.

• Demonstrated background in Computational Social Science, Data Science, Computer Science, Political Science, Communication Science, quantitative History of Science, Sociology, Psychology, and other fields related to social media data mining.

• Strong publication record in relevant fields.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with interactive data visualization and website development. 

• Proficiency in using cloud-based platforms for data storage and computation.

• Familiarity with climate change misinformation, obstructionism, politics, and/or communication.

• Experience working with interdisciplinary research teams or in cross-sector collaborations (for example between academia and NGOs)

Salary:

$70,000 to $90,000 per year, depending on experience

Start date/Appointment term:

As soon as possible. The position is for one year with the possibility for extension. Exceptional performance can lead to promotion to a permanent, non-tenured research staff role.

Required application materials:

Cover letter, a one-page statement of research experiences and interests, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three references.

The University of Miami is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities are encouraged to apply. Applicants and employees are protected from discrimination based on certain categories protected by Federal law. Click here for additional information.

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