Challenges and Opportunities for News Media and Journalism in an Increasingly Digital, Mobile, and Social Media Environment

About the role

The DCU Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society (FuJo) is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on the SCALEDEM project. SCALEDEM is a five-year research project funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant. The project investigates how democratic innovations, such as citizens' assemblies and deliberative minipublics, can be scaled up to engage larger and more diverse populations. The successful candidate will work with the Principal Investigator and the project team on research design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design and implementation of the SCALEDEM research programme
• Conduct quantitative and/or qualitative data collection and analysis
• Assist with the management of the project's research activities
• Publish research findings in high-quality peer-reviewed journals and present at international conferences
• Contribute to the dissemination of project findings to academic, policy, and public audiences
• Collaborate with other members of the FuJo research team and external partners

Qualifications

• PhD in Political Science, Sociology, Communication Studies, or a closely related discipline
• Strong research skills, including experience with quantitative and/or qualitative methods
• Proven ability to publish research in peer-reviewed outlets
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative research team

Skills

• Knowledge of democratic theory, deliberative democracy, or participatory governance
• Experience with survey design and analysis, experimental methods, or computational social science
• Familiarity with data analysis software (e.g., R, Stata, SPSS, or Python)
• Project management and organisational skills

Pay

€44,846 – €57,332 per annum (Postdoctoral Researcher Level 1, points 1–7), depending on qualifications and experience.

Schedule

Full-time, fixed-term contract for 24 months, with the possibility of extension subject to funding.