Junior Researcher on Adolescent Social Media Use and Well-being

Are you interested in supporting research on adolescent social media use and well-being and contributing to the societal discussion on the topic? We are looking for a junior researcher to support ongoing work on the topic, including analyzing self-report and social media data through computational social science.

Play an essential role in supporting Project AWeSome
As a Junior Researcher, you will play an essential role in supporting Project AWeSome – which stands for Adolescents, Well-being, and Social media (see also project-awesome.nl). Your main responsibilities will include conducting advanced quantitative analyses such as Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (DSEM) using intensive longitudinal data (including ecological momentary assessment and daily diary data), and analyzing TikTok data downloads through methods like automated visual content analysis.

You will also contribute by visualizing data trends for reporting purposes and drafting results sections for scientific manuscripts. In addition, you will gather relevant literature and manage our reference software, ensuring that all references are accurate, complete, and comply with relevant guidelines.

To support our commitment to open science, you will help update and prepare research materials for open-access publication, including codebooks, interview guides, syntax, and code. Furthermore, you will manage the day-to-day aspects of the ongoing research, maintain the project’s website and social media channels by sharing updates and relevant news, and you will manage the project inbox by responding to requests and invitations in a timely manner.

This is an exciting opportunity to be closely involved in cutting-edge research while developing your skills in data analysis, scientific writing, open science, and academic communication.

What are you going to do
You will be responsible for:

• Conducting literature reviews and managing reference software;
• Conducting quantitative analyses of experience sampling and daily diary data (e.g., DSEM) and TikTok video data (e.g., automated visual content analysis);
• Visualizing data trends for reporting;
• Collaborating on scientific papers on this topic following the principles of open science;
• Managing the day-to-day aspects of the ongoing research, such as keeping the website and social media channels up to date and responding to requests and invitations.

What do you have to offer

• Research Master’s degree in Communication Science or related field;
• Advanced quantitative skills, particularly comfortable with automated content analysis (including usage of LLMs for research) as well as intensive longitudinal data analysis;
• Demonstrated experience working with R and/or Python;
• Affinity with the topic of adolescent social media use and well-being and computational methods;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal;
• Ability and interest in supporting all aspects of the research process, including but not limited to literature review; data analysis; concept writing; and manuscript preparation.
• Experience with the practice of open science;
• Independent, 'making things work' mentality; structured work ethic;
• Excellent command of English; Dutch language skills a plus.

If the vacancy appeals to you, but you are doubting whether you might be THE person we are looking for, please do apply. We encourage all qualified applicants, including minorities, women, people with disabilities, and members of other groups underrepresented in academia to apply. We are committed to creating an environment of mutual respect, inclusiveness, equal opportunities with room for situated experiences, diverse perspectives, and ideas to flourish. This commitment applies to our research, organisation, room for flexibility, training, and community activities as well as our hiring strategy.

What we offer you
The position concerns temporary employment for 0.8-1.0 FTE. The position starts September 1st, 2025 for a period of one year with a probation period of two months. There may be a possibility, after the first year, to extend to a second year pending financial circumstances.

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

What else do we offer

• The opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research in an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam
• An enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues
• A position in which initiative and input are highly valued

You will work in this department
The Junior Researcher position is embedded within Project AWeSome, a project lead by dr. Beyens and dr. van der Wal. This project is part of the Youth and Media Entertainment programme group at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). In the Youth and Media Entertainment programme group, we explore the role of communication technologies in everyday life studying traditional and new forms of media. Building on a media psychological orientation, the programme group focuses in particular on children and adolescents.

If you recognize yourself in this profile and are interested in the role, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply via the red button until 21 May 2025.

For questions about the vacancy, you can contact:

• Dr. Ine Beyens i.beyens@uva.nl

Applications in .pdf should include:

• a curriculum vitae;
• a short letter of motivation
• a list of courses followed in your research master’s
• a copy of your research master’s thesis

Please include all materials in one single file (PDF).