Survey Research Assistant in the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies

Internal Applicants Only

Deadline: 13 February 2025

Nicole Stremlau is looking for a research assistant to support a survey as part of the EU-funded ReMeD (Resilient Media for Democracy in the Digital Age in Europe) project.

The Research Assistant will be a member of a research group working on the governance of the fact-checking ecosystem in Europe. More particularly, the research group is seeking support with deploying and analysing a survey among fact-checking organisations in Europe and beyond.   We have a draft of the survey ready (so there would be less survey design involved) but there will be opportunities for analysis and writing up of findings. Given the recent announcement by Meta to scale back its investment in fact-checking, this research comes at a timely moment for the factchecking community and we plan to move quickly on both dissemination and analysis. 

Further details about this project can be found here: https://resilientmedia.eu

Tasks for the Research Assistant will be:

• Review and comment on the draft survey, including questions, layout, and structure.
• Identify appropriate survey population and sampling (fact-checking organisations and networks in Europe), assist in determination of sample sizes to ensure statistical validity, coordinate participant recruitment and dissemination efforts
• Manage survey distribution, monitor survey response rates, troubleshoot technical or logistical issues during data collection
• Review and clean raw data to correct errors (duplicates, invalid responses etc)
• Organise data into formats suitable for analysis
• Analyse data using statistical tools and software to identify trends, patterns and relationships in the data
• Report and visualise data, create tables/graphs/charts to present findings in meaningful ways
• Maintain documentation of survey methodologies, data collection processes and analysis steps, while ensuring compliance with data privacy and ethical research guidelines
• Conduct Quality Control, including validity and reliability checks on survey instruments and data
• Work closely with the leading researchers and participate in team meetings to provide updates and discuss project progress
• Contribute to writing for academic publications
• Contribute to research & policy reports, summaries and presentations
• Contribute to the development and organisation of a related workshop on fact-checking in Oxford
• Contribute to the dissemination of findings and public engagement efforts on social media
• General project support: liaising with ReMeD project members and administrators and assist in publicising ReMeD research

Duration and hours

Working hours: a total of up to 96 hrs across the duration of the project, to be agreed with the project supervisor.

Start date: 20 February 2025

Date by which the work must be completed: 14 May 2025, or 12 weeks after start date.

Reporting

The Research Assistant will report to Nicole Stremlau.

Essential Criteria

• Experience in survey research (including design and survey administration, dissemination and participant recruitment, cleaning and organising survey data) and quantitative data analysis.
• Good knowledge in statistical software for analysing trends and patterns in survey data.
• Good reporting skills with the ability to create meaningful charts and graphs.
• Ability to manage own research and administrative activities.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write text that can be published, present data at conferences, and represent the research group at meetings.

Desirable Criteria

• Previous large scale survey projects, especially in international or multi-organisational context.
• Sector specific knowledge: an understanding of the fact – checking ecosystem and networks.
• Advanced data visualisation experience.
• Experience of working in a research team and contributing ideas for new research projects.
• Research and policy experience in the field of law or politics and technology.
• Experience of planning conferences/workshops/ public events.
• Ability to assist with research dissemination.

Your normal place of work will be the St Cross Building or the Manor Road Building, Manor Road.  However, provided you have the agreement of your PI/Supervisor, and a suitable space to work (including library access if required), it may be possible to undertake the work remotely.  

In all cases the work must be undertaken in the UK. 

Please note that you will be required to complete a Right to Work check before starting work. The Law Faculty HR Team will contact you directly to arrange for the appropriate check to take place. What is a right to work check? | Staff Immigration (ox.ac.uk)

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to current graduate students in the Social Science Division.

Rate of Pay

The work will be paid at £18.43 per hour, which equates to University Grade 6, point 1, on the basis of completed and approved timesheets, which must be submitted to payroll@law.ox.ac.uk by the last Friday of each calendar month for payment on the last working day of the following month.

In addition, paid annual leave will be assumed to be taken in the month in which it was accrued.

Funding

This opportunity is funded by the European Commission-funded project ReMeD (BAR00930).

How to Apply

A short CV and cover letter (including the name of your supervisor) should be sent by email to Nicole Stremlau at Nicole.stremlau@csls.ox.ac.uk by 13th February 2025. Please explain how you meet the requirements for the role, and give details of your availability. Supervisors may be asked for a reference. 

Enquiries about the project are welcome, and may be addressed to Nicole Stremlau. General queries, e.g. about the appointment process, or eligibility, may be addressed to research@law.ox.ac.uk.