Research Associate, Social Science

The Alan Turing Institute

The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence whose mission is to make great leaps in data science and artificial intelligence research in order to change the world for the better.

ROLE PURPOSE

The successful candidate will work as a Research Associate in Social Science as part of The Turing’s Online Safety Team. This is a new part of The Turing which provides objective, evidence-driven insight into the technical, social, empirical and ethical aspects of online safety to support the work of policymakers, inform civic discourse and extend academic knowledge. High-priority research areas include online hate, harassment, extremism, misinformation and disinformation. Candidates with little or no prior experience in these areas will be considered provided they can demonstrate interest and willingness to learn.

The successful candidate will be responsible for conducting original social scientific research into the dynamics, impact and/or effect of hate speech, misinformation, extremism, personal attacks and other hazardous online behaviours. They will use mixed social scientific methods, with a particular emphasis on surveys and/or experiments. Methodological training will be provided, if needed. The successful candidate will drive forward research by co-designing innovative research projects, managing data collection processes (typically through 3rd party providers) and analysing and theorising the results. This will lead to the publication of high-impact academic papers at social science venues. They will also be given opportunities to present research findings to a range of non-academic stakeholders, including the UK Government (DCMS and Home Office), regulators (Ofcom) and civil society.

DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The successful candidate will:

• Apply innovative social scientific methods to understand complex problems in online safety.
• Design, implement and report on ground breaking and impactful social scientific research.
• Prepare research outputs that are tailored to a diverse audience.
• Present papers and research outputs at external conferences and events.
• Identify new research opportunities and directions.
• Translate the results from research into intuitive lessons for policy-makers.
• Build and maintain relationships with policy-makers and other key stakeholders.
• Support other activities in the Online Safety Team.
• Develop work plans to ensure timely delivery of objectives and assist with quarterly grant reports. 

Person Specification

• PhD-level degree in social science, sociology, social psychology, research methods, politics, quantitative social research or a related discipline.
• Demonstrable experience in relevant methods
• Experience collaborating to deliver projects
• Experience in publishing research

Please see our portal for a full breakdown of the Job Description. 

Terms and Conditions

This full-time post is offered on a fixed term basis for two years.  The annual salary is £37,000-£42,000 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies,  https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits

Application procedure

Please see our jobs portal for full details on how to apply and the interview process. 

Equality Diversity and Inclusion

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly.  In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  

Reasonable adjustments to the interview process will be made for any candidates with a disability.