Research or Academic Assistants to Analyze Policies for Social Media in Elections
Job Classification: Research or Academic Assistant
Status: Part-time Hourly
Start Date: Oct 1, 2023 or as soon as possible
End Date: One year, possibly renewable
Salary: $30 – $40 per hour depending on skills and experience (including benefits)
Hours per month: 25 – 35 hours per month
Funding: Grant funding
The hours to be worked will depend in part on the individual’s availability and the extent of work they undertake. It will average 25 to 35 hours per month, with some flexibility regarding when those hours are worked.
About the Project and Position
Social media platforms expand how citizens can engage in politics, but they may also be used to undermine full and fair democratic participation. In many elections, platforms have enabled foreign interference, false claims about voting processes, threats against politicians, and disinformation campaigns about key political issues. In recent years, governments around the world have responded with policies to regulate social media and protect democratic participation.
Associate Professor Heidi Tworek and Research Associate Chris Tenove, the director and assistant director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions, are running a multi-year study to investigate this topic. Working with Professor Yves Tiberghien at UBC and collaborators at other universities, the project will pursue three key questions: What factors shape the policies that different governments adopt? How do these affect the behavior of social media platforms? Most importantly, what policies are more or less effective at safeguarding democratic elections?
We seek two RA/AAs to make important contributions to this project for one or more years. The individuals would pursue comparative policy research on the regulation of social media in election contexts, and to write up findings for both academic and policy audiences. One researcher will focus more on the development and spread of policies globally, and the second will develop case studies of policies in several Asian countries and/or Canada.
To read more about the project, please visit: https://democracy.ubc.ca/platforms/platform-governance-elections/.
Work Performed:
The candidates’ tasks will include:
- help to review existing academic and policy literature;
- help with developing an analytic strategy and database to compare government policies globally;
- work with collaborators to document government policies and populate the database
- analyze research data;
- assist in manuscript writing and potentially co-author an academic article or book chapter;
- assist in preparing knowledge mobilizations materials, which could range from social media posts to a short policy brief for the Canadian government (or similar);
- meet regularly with the supervisor to discuss research tasks;
- participate in occasional online meetings with project collaborators;
- in all these tasks, the RA will help advance the EDI objectives of this project.
Qualifications and expertise:
A graduate student (PhD or Master’s) or Postdoctoral fellow, preferably from Political Science, Law, Asia Studies, or Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC. Individuals with one or more of the following areas of expertise are preferred:
- Previous research and publishing experience;
- Knowledge of internet policy and/or election management;
- Knowledge of the political institutions of one or more countries outside Canada, including India, South Korea, or Taiwan;
- Fluency in a language other than English.
Desired Skills
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Database creation and management
- Quantitative data analysis
- Report and manuscript writing skills
- Time management skills
- Ability to work under minimal supervision
Consequence of Error/Impact of Decision:
- Errors or incorrect decisions in accuracy, judgement, and communication could potentially result in delays in completing the project or seriously compromise the productivity and quality of the research.
- Failure to seriously follow the project procedures will result in an inability to meet the deadlines and delay in completion of the project.
- Failure to demonstrate professional and ethical performance could result in loss of credibility for the project, researcher, and the organization.
Supervision received
Each RA/AA will be expected to work relatively independently with guidance and feedback from Dr. Tenove and Dr. Tworek or Dr. Tiberghien.
Supervision given
None
UBC diversity statement:
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.
To apply
We will consider applications on a rolling basis until September 22, please send the following to write Chris Tenove (cjtenove@mail.ubc.ca):
- CV or resumé
- A brief statement of your relevant research experiences, interests and skills, and how they relate to the RA/AA position (max. 250 words)
Please write Chris if you have any further questions.