Postdoctoral Position to Study HASTAC's Network and Impact

HASTAC seeking Postdoctoral Scholar for NSF EAGER Social Network Data Grant


HASTAC is currently seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar to carry out social network data analysis for a newly awarded $294,000 NSF EAGER project "Assessing the Impact of Technology-Aided Participation and Mentoring on Transformative Interdisciplinary Research: A Data-Based Study of the Incentives and Success of an Exemplar Academic Network.” Through a large-scale analysis of the HASTAC social network, the Postdoc will investigate the interplay of cyber infrastructure and scholarly communication, combining cutting-edge data mining methods with thoughtful human and institutional questions to examine how virtual interdisciplinary connections and mentoring can promote new modes of research, learning, teaching, and career development. Computational analysis, data extraction, and social networking analysis will be used to examine six years’ worth of data from the HASTAC website, which is built on the Drupal platform. The full call, as well as the abstract and a link to the full proposal, is continued in the link below. Interested parties should submit their materials by Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

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I’ve got a social science PhD now what?

   I’m taking a break from digital professionalism this month to consider an issue which is currently dominating PhD / Post Doc discussions on twitter – Career options for Post docs and where you fit Post PhD.

   In the week before Christmas I had a couple of long, somewhat analytical and at times teary conversations with my boss about being unsure of where I ‘fit’ post-PhD. This was in part to do with the adjustment to starting a new job and part to do with being in this weird PhD Postdoc transitionary period where you have to find your feet on the other side of academia. When I started my PhD I didn’t think too much about the end result. I just expected for my career to be in academia and automatically associated academia with more research and lecturing. Thus when I finished I was full of happiness but also bemused about what to do next. There was a distinct lack of research jobs and although I applied and was interviewed for a seemingly endless number of positions I got sick of coming a ‘very close second’ etc. although in my head I was still expecting to go PhD post doc or two then lectureship. My PhD is from a Russell Group institution where the focus is on research and developing international, highly qualified researchers. Thus the way I had been brought up academically through my university career I saw this as the natural trajectory.

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