University of Fribourg

The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences (SES) at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, invites applications for a post-doctoral researcher in the re- search project “Flip-flopping again? Political elite's position shifts, media coverage, and the public” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and led by Profes- sor Alexandra Feddersen. The successful candidate will work on the research project at the Department of Communication and Media Research (DCM).

The DCM provides an outstanding research environment based on interdisciplinary, innovative and dynamic collaborations at the interface between communication, media, economics and society. Unique in its bilingualism, located at the heart of Europe, and renowned for its rigorous training and research, the University of Fribourg is a decisive stepping stone towards a rewarding career in research.

Information

Start date: September 1st, 2024, or to be agreed

Contract duration: 4 years (1 year; renewable 3 years)

Employment rate: 100%; the salary will be established according to the guidelines of the University of Fribourg and the SNF.

Profile

Interests:

You are creative, motivated and passionate about research in social sciences. You can work independently as well as in a team. You are interested in pursuing research in a four-year project exploring the dilemma faced by political elites when they consider changing their stance on policy issues. Updating one's position on pressing policy is- sues might be seen as necessary in some circumstances, but it may also lead to cred- ibility loss as voters might perceive their elites as inconsistent. The aims to understand (A) how political elites change their positions on policy issues, (B) how the media re- ports these changes, and (C) how the public perceives these shifts in terms of credibil- ity and trust for their elites. You will mainly contribute to area (C) of the research project.

Skills:

You are proficient in quantitative methods of data gathering and data analysis com- monly applied in social sciences and preferably implement them in R or Python. Ideally, you are proficient in survey design and survey-embedded experiments. If you have experience with quantitative content analysis, this will be considered an additional as- set.

Education: 

You have obtained a PhD degree in communication or related field.

Languages:

You are proficient in English; good knowledge of French and/or German is considered an additional asset.

Application

Questions: 

Questions regarding the position and/or application can be sent to Jolanda Wehrli (jolanda.wehrli@unifr.ch).

Documents:

The application must contain:

- a cover letter specifying research interests, motivations, and specific qualifications; - a CV containing the names of two academic references;

- transcripts of completed academic training;

- a one-page summary of the PhD thesis and the evaluation by your committee.

The evaluation of the applications will focus on the applicant’s academic background, interests, and potential for academic success.

Deadline:

The application must be sent as one single PDF document to Jolanda Wehrli (jolanda.wehrli@unifr.ch) by May 1st, 2024.