CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
We are looking for 2 Ph.D. and 2 MA students to be employed in InfodemiLab’s TÜBİTAK-funded research project, for 24 months starting in January 2023. Details about the positions are below. For the salary information, please check TÜBİTAK’s webpage. To apply, send your CV to sukocer@ku.edu.tr.
Synopsis of the Project
InfodemiLab is a research initiative launched in 2020 with the aim of dissecting the social and communicative contexts of media and misinformation in Turkey. InfodemiLab’s new research project will start in January 2023 and is a 30 months long mixed-methods research that scrutinizes false information, a matter on a global scale, from the viewpoint of situated media users in Turkey. While our methods toolkit is mixed, our larger perspective on misinformation is informed by anthropology and ethnographic studies of media. One of our goals is to reveal the social and relational dynamics that shape the encounters between false information and media users and to shed light on the contextual and social dimensions of false information, a dimension that is often left out within the literature. Another goal of the project is to constitute a solid ground for multi-party discussions on how to develop resilience against false information in a conflict-ridden context like Turkey. By the end of the project, a guide with the purpose of facilitating the use of ethnographic methods by social media and false information researchers will be prepared.
Doctoral Positions
2 Ph.D. students will be employed as research assistants in the project for 24 months. The doctoral applicants would also be considered for enrollment in the Design, Technology, and Society Ph.D. program at Koç University. The Ph.D. assistants of the project will be responsible for data collection and analysis (participant observation, media diaries, in-depth interviews, qualitative network maps) and systematic literature review steps. The Ph.D. assistants will also be active in preparing the ethnographic research guide, organizing the focus groups with media experts, and preparing the project reports. The applicants are expected to be well-versed in the social sciences and humanities perspectives and academically interested in the intersections between such issues as media, social media, disinformation, political communication, polarization and censorship, political culture, everyday life, and social movements in Turkey. The applicants are expected to be familiar with the mixed methodologies in media and communication research. Experience in ethnographic research design and conduct is preferable as one assistant will be involved in leading the participant observation team. Advanced English language skills and MS Office use are a must. The applicants are also expected to know or learn such data analysis programs as Atlas.ti. The applicants are expected to work for at least 20 hours a week for the project. They are required to work for the position solely.
MA Positions
2 MA students will be employed as research assistants in the project for 24 months. MA assistants will be responsible for data collection and analysis (especially participant observation and also media diaries, in-depth interviews, qualitative network maps) and designing and managing such communication activities of the project as the podcast channel and social media accounts. The assistants will also be active in preparing the ethnographic research guide and organizing the focus groups with media experts. The applicants are expected to be knowledgeable about the social sciences and humanities perspectives and be academically interested in the intersections between such issues as media, social media, disinformation, political communication, polarization and censorship, political culture, everyday life, and social movements in Turkey. The applicants are expected to be familiar with the mixed methodologies in media and communication research as well as ethnographic methods. Advanced English language skills and MS Office use are a must. The applicants are also expected to know or learn such data analysis programs as Atlas.ti. The applicants are expected to work for at least 20 hours a week for the project. They are required to work for the position solely.