ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY IS AN INTERNATIONALLY ACKNOWLEDGED RESEARCH UNIVERSITY WITH AN EXTENSIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROVIDING EDUCATION IN SWEDISH IN FINLAND.

Åbo Akademi University offers a postdoctoral position as a project researcher in the Strategic Research Council of Finland financed consortium The Resilience of Liberal Democracy in Finland (RESLIDE), in particular Work Package 3 hosted at Åbo Akademi University. WP3 examines citizens’ support for liberal democratic norms and institutions, and the conditions under which this support strengthens or weakens. Additionally, it will explore the relationship between democracy information provision and commitment to liberal democratic norms. The position is fixed-term for the time 1.5.2025-30.11.2027. The starting date is negotiable. We are looking for a researcher with experience in survey research and the study of political attitudes, including survey experiments, as well as a proficiency in statistical methods.

DESCRIPTION OF THE POSITION

We are looking for an early career researcher. The work tasks are comprised primarily of research within the project, both independently and as part of the research team, on citizens’ attitudes toward liberal democracy. The project researcher will plan surveys and survey experiments together with the research team, run the surveys and experiments as well as analyze the data. Additionally, the researcher will actively participate in authoring articles. The work tasks also include other duties relating to the research project and other activities within the research environment at Samforsk. The tasks of the project researcher may also include contributing to teaching (up to 5% of the annual working time).
The researcher will be a member of a collaborative research team and the position is located in Turku. The work time is 1612 hours per academic year. The work tasks are defined in detail in an annual work plan. A trial period of six months applies to all new employees.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EVALUATION

A project researcher is required to hold a Doctor’s degree in a relevant field.
We also welcome applications from doctoral researchers who are close to completing the doctoral degree. If the appointee has not yet been awarded a doctoral degree, the employment will start as a temporary employment as research assistant and then change to a temporary employment as project researcher when awarded the doctoral degree. Employment as a research assistant requires that the person in question has a higher university degree (Master’s degree).
For this position, proficiency in statistical methods is required.

When assessing the applicant’s qualifications for the position, the following criteria will be taken into consideration:

• Scientific competence (80%), including achieved academic merits, scholarly publications in relevant topics, expertise and experience in survey methodology, experimental methods and data analysis.
• Interactive competence (20%) including good collaborative skills, merits in project management and societal outreach.

We especially invite applicants with experience in survey data analysis and experimental methods. Expertise in the use of relevant statistical software (e.g. STATA/R) is considered an asset. The position also requires strong English skills. Additionally, due to the scope of the research project knowledge of Finnish and/or Swedish is regarded as an asset.
The successful candidate will be appointed based on an overall assessment of the applicants’ capabilities to carry out the work duties included in the position. The applicants can be invited to an interview.

Please refer the Job description for details