The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, College Park, is now hiring four to five hourly IWCAG Research Assistants to assist with collecting data related to Russia’s information campaigns in the Ukraine War on social media platform Telegram, reviewing existing scholarly and policy literature on information campaigns, and coding literature on several data dimensions. Three hourly assistants will manage data collection of Telegram messages posted in Ukrainian, Russian, and Chinese languages. One or two assistants will conduct literature reviews and coding. All research assistants will contribute to the development of the Global Responses to Asymmetric Threats project.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Coding messages on Telegram on several dimensions based on the codebook developed by senior researchers and entering data into a spreadsheet (for research assistants working on Russian information study)
Reading scholarly and policy literature on information campaigns (for research assistants working on literature review)
Coding each piece of the literature on relevant dimensions based on the codebook developed by senior researchers and entering data into a spreadsheet (for literature review assistants)
Availability to discuss progress with senior researchers (for all research assistants)
Assisting with presentations, as needed (for all research assistants)
Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree or enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program (for research assistants working on Russian information study)
Fluency in either Ukrainian, Chinese, or Russian (for research assistants working on Russian information study)
Master’s degree or enrollment in a doctoral program (for research assistants working on literature review)
Experience with spreadsheet software, such as MS Excel (for all research assistants)
Strong communication, responsivity, and organizational skills and the ability to work collaboratively and independently (for all research assistants)
Strong critical thinking skills, exhibited by the ability to take information from a wide variety of sources and synthesize the information (for all research assistants)
Preferred Qualifications:

Demonstrated interest in irregular or unconventional warfare
Demonstrated experience conducting literature reviews
Demonstrated experience with data collection

Salary:

These are hourly positions at an hourly rate $25/hour without benefits, with a typical workweek of 10-20 hours for the Russian information study and up to 25 hours for the literature review study. Upon hire, a standard schedule (based on candidate availability and team needs) will be determined. The persons selected for these positions may work a hybrid schedule or a fully remote schedule, based on conversations with the team lead, and report directly to Dr. Elizabeth Radziszewski and Ms. Salma Bouziani.

To Apply

Qualified applicants should submit a cover letter and a resume to Dr. Elizabeth Radziszewski outlining which position they are applying for (Russian information study or literature review study) at eradzisz@umd.edu by January 23, 2023, for best consideration. Only complete applications will be reviewed. The University of Maryland, College Park, actively subscribes to a policy of equal employment opportunity and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, age, gender, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, national origin, or political affiliation. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

Learn more at https://www.start.umd.edu/careers/irregular-warfare-and-conflict-assessment-group-iwcag-research-assistants