Research Assistant in International Relations

The Role

100% of your time will be spent working on the project “The Responsibility to Protect in the context of the continuing War on Terror.  A study of liberal interventionism during the Syria crisis 2011-2013”.  This project is funded by the Research Councils United Kingdom (RCUK). It is part of the RCUK programme on Rights and Ethics in a Security Context.  The project is led by Professor Jason Ralph, with colleagues from the School of Politics and International Studies (Dr. James Souter and Dr. Derek Edyvane) and the School of History (Dr. Rachel Utley).  You will work on the part of the project that is related to United States policy towards Syria.  You will be responsible for gathering data to be used in a paper being authored by Professor Ralph. More specifically, you will be responsible for gathering open qualitative data on US official discourse and using Lexis-Nexis to gather qualitative data on wider policy discourse in, for example, the New York Times and Washington Post.  The period you will be required to gather data on is March 2011 to December 2013.  You will be required to catalogue the data using NVivo software and engage in a preliminary coding exercise using “nodes” as defined by the existing project. You will be responsible for maintaining and preserving the database in a manner that will facilitate Professor Ralph’s research and be presentable to the research funders on completion of the project.

Requirements

With a relevant degree and/or experience, and evidence of an ability to collect and organise large quantities of qualitative data for policy-relevant research, you will possess excellent communication and organisational skills and the ability to work to a set deadline.  The ability to work alone and communicate findings to the lead researcher is essential.

General Information

The University of Leeds is a diverse, multi-cultural environment.  We welcome applications from all sections of society and the successful applicant will be expected to work within University values and policies which are designed to promote dignity, diversity and inclusiveness.

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Jason Ralph, by tel +44 (0) 113 343 4429, or email j.g.ralph@leeds.ac.uk

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