PhD Position for the Project "Social Media Representation of LGBQ Young People"

Are you eager to investigate the roles of social media in the representation of LGBQ young people?

The Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate for the project: Social Media Representations of LGBQ Young People. The project is embedded within the Youth and Media Entertainment Programme Group of the Department of Communication Science and will be supervised by Dr. Chei Billedo (PI), Prof. dr. Jessica Piotrowski, Prof. dr. Jochen Peter, and Dr. Sindy Sumter.

The media play an important role in shaping young peoples’ identity. However, research on representations in traditional entertainment media has shown that sexual identity minorities’ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or LGBQ) representations are often absent; and if present, these representations are mostly negative or stereotypical. With social media, the media landscape is expected to change, i.e. offering more diverse content and catering to a greater variety of audiences. Consequently, it is argued that social media may be especially beneficial for LGBQ youth who do not see their identities authentically represented in traditional entertainment media. However, to date empirical evidence for this assumption is lacking. For this reason, the current project will address the question: How do LGBQ social media representations contribute to positive self-concept and sexual identity integration among sexual minority youth?

What are you going to do

As a PhD candidate in this project, you will conduct three related studies connected to the overarching research question of the project. The project is currently planned to include a systematic narrative review, a survey research, and a longitudinal design study with experience sampling method (ESM). This PhD project requires you to provide an overview of relevant academic literature and design the three studies of the project. Together, successfully completing these studies will lead to a PhD dissertation.

You will:

• Manage the project, e.g., schedule meetings with the supervisory team, prepare the agenda for these meetings, document meetings and research activities;
• Design and prepare the studies (e.g., create a search strategy for a narrative literature review, set up a survey);
• Collect and analyze data for the studies (e.g., collect and synthesize relevant academic literature, recruit survey and ESM participants, analyze cross-sectional survey and ESM data);
• Write academic articles for publications in high-impact scientific journals, as well as present in (inter)national conferences;
• Contribute to the ASCoR research community by attending workshops, meetings, and lectures;
• Contribute to teaching activities at Bachelor’s level (approximately 10% of your time).

What do you have to offer

A successful candidate for this position has affinity with quantitative research methods and writing academic texts. Moreover, you are able to work independently and manage your own time.

Furthermore, you have:

• a (research) master’s degree in communication science, psychology, media studies or sociology, or will obtain this degree before the start of the project;
• a strong interest in the topics of social media, media representation, digital society, diversity and inclusion;
• knowledge of and experience with quantitative research methods and data analysis required; in particular, literature reviews, surveys, experiments; in addition experience with data donations, experience sampling methodology (ESM), (multilevel) longitudinal analyses, computational methods are a plus;
• skills to handle complex datasets;
• knowledge of and ideally also experience with open science principles;
• a strong commitment to methodological rigor and scientific integrity;
• a strong interest to learn new skills;
• excellent social and organizational skills;
• motivation to share your knowledge with academic and non-academic audiences;
• an interest in pursuing an academic career;
• excellent command of spoken and written English;
• evidence of English language proficiency (for example, in the form of thesis work or presentations);
• mastery of Dutch is a plus.

You are:

• adept in quantitative data analysis with a demonstrated ability to learn new techniques;
• able to work both in a team and independently, and you have a pro-active attitude;
• organized, flexible, and demonstrate attention to detail;
• curious, creative, and interested in learning from different disciplines;
• resilient in the face of challenges that come with new methodological approaches;
• able to balance the demands of several tasks (e.g., combining research and teaching) successfully.

What can we offer you

The planned starting date for this project is 6 January 2025. The position concerns temporary employment of 38 hours per week for a maximum term of 4 years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 36 months, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. We will put together a curriculum which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events, such as academic conferences. You will also be tasked with teaching (Bachelor’s) students for approximately 10% of the contract. For this position the University Job Classification profile “promovendus” applies.

Your salary will be €2.770 gross per month in the first year and will increase to €3.539 in the final year, based on full-time employment and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

What else do we offer

• A position which focuses on the PhD candidate and creating opportunities for their scholarly and professional development;
• A supervision team with the goal to supervise and advice the PhD candidate in their work on specific studies/task in particular but also to support the PhD candidate in terms of professional development through regular team meetings;
• A daily supervisor who is available for the PhD candidate for regular contact on all matters relevant to the candidate;
• An enthusiastic and warm department that is open to new colleagues;
• A large, welcoming community of PhD candidates working in various projects within Communication Science;
• An inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
• While frequent presence at the office is valued in terms of cohesion and team building, we offer the opportunity to work hybrid (i.e., to work from home from time to time).

About us

The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, with the broadest spectrum of degree programmes. It is an intellectual hub with 39,000 students, 6,000 employees and 3,000 doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.