As the principal investigator of a research project on illiberalism in East Central Europe, Prof. Ivan Kalmar of the University of Toronto will be interviewing applicants for a part-time research assistantship. The interviews will take place online in the winter of 2021. Details of the position and the application procedure are given below.
Research Assistant: Social Media Analyst
The Research Assistant (RA) will assist the Principal Investigator (PI) in the continued collection and analysis of social media posts, mainly tweets, related to the PI’s research on illiberalism in Central Europe. Most of the tweets collected mention George Soros, as the research is pivoted around perceptions of this Hungarian-American financier and philanthropist.
The RA is required to maintain, and occasionally redesign, the automated collection process, and to help in reading and evaluating the results.
The social media posts are in all languages, but the focus is on those in Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian.
Qualifications
The Research Assistant should 1) have at least an intermediate competency in Information Technology, including programming in at least the Python programming language; 2) understand with ease posts in Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian, using a dictionary if necessary for one of them; and 3) read and write English. Applicants who know only Hungarian or only the three Slavic languages may be considered if we do not find a qualified RA who can follow all four.
The RA may work remotely, from any location. This position is open to residents of all countries.
Funding
The research is funded entirely by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The rate of compensation is $20 Canadian (about €12.50) per hour, net.
The length of engagement for the Research Assistant is negotiable. An initial estimate is that the work will take 3-7 hours a week.
Application Instructions
Please apply as soon as possible. Contact Prof. Ivan Kalmar of the University of Toronto, i.kalmar@utoronto.ca. Please include: 1) a cover letter explaining why you are interested in the position, 2) a CV, and 3) the email of three referees. The referees should understand an English request for a reference, but may answer in the local language.
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