Research Officer - Digital Methods

The School of Social Science conducts research and offers courses in sociology, criminology, anthropology, and archaeology.  It is a research-intensive school and is one of the largest of its type in Australia with over 45 academic staff, 9 professional staff, and around 900 equivalent full-time students. 

Paul Henman, Associate Professor of Digital Sociology and Social Policy, in the School of Social Science, and Principal Research Fellow in the Centre for Policy Futures has led innovative research on the role of digital technologies in government for over two decades. He is currently leading an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project Government Web Portals as New Government Actors which will be undertaking online user surveys that track participants' web navigation. These surveys of people in USA, Australia, the UK and Canada, will assess the effectiveness of whole-of-government web portals. In a second ARC-funded project, Making complex interfaces work for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, large-scale webcrawling of disability organisations' websites will be used to identify patterns in online inter-organisational relationships. These relationships will be investigated alongside offline relationships.

The role

In conjunction with the Chief Investigator Associate Professor Paul Henman, and other non-UQ investigators, the appointee will be responsible for supporting the conduct of research using digital research methods in two ARC funded projects. The role will develop a virtual machine platform and associated database to collect survey participant data using a pre-build Firefox extension. Database query and analysis of findings of user's web navigation and accuracy in finding government-related information will then be undertaken. The role will also undertake large-scale webcrawling and analysis of subsequent hyperlink nextworks using visualisation, network analysis techniques and other computational social science. These tasks require a working knowledge of R, SQL, JavaScript and PHP.

The person

Applicants should possess a degree in relevant computer science, information systems, data analytics, or social sciences, and have a demonstrated ability to programme in R, SQL, JavaScript and PHP. You should also have a strong desire to work in a multidisciplinary environment, good general research skills, knowledge of computational social science, and good writing abilities.

The University of Queensland values diversity and inclusion and actively encourages applications from those who bring diversity to the University. Please refer to the University's Diversity and Inclusion webpage (https://staff.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/human-resources/diversity) for further information and points of contact if you require additional support.  

This role is a full-time position; however flexible working arrangements may be negotiated.

Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to (insert details of HR contact assisting with recruitment).

Remuneration

This is a full-time, fixed term appointment at HEW 6 until 31 December 2019. The remuneration package will be in the range $77,400 - $83,267 pa, plus employer superannuation contributions of up to 00% (total package will be in the range $90,558 - $97,422p.a.).

The University of Queensland also offers other competitive options including salary sacrificing, on campus childcare, leave packaging and discounted private health insurance as well as many other benefits.

Enquiries

To discuss this role please contact Associate Professor Paul Henman on +61 7 3443 3142 or p.henman@uq.edu.au.

To submit an application for this role, use the Apply button below. All applicants must supply the following documents: Cover letter, Resume and Selection Criteria responses.

For information on completing the application process click here.