Job Summary
Project Title: Social Media, News, and Information Dynamics
Duration: May 2026 - May 2027
Project Overview
This project examines how news and information are produced, shared, and consumed on social media platforms. The research focuses on issues such as information diffusion, credibility, engagement patterns, and the interaction between social media content and public discourse. The project combines computational methods with social science perspectives to better understand the role of social media in shaping news exposure and interpretation.
Position Description
The Research Associate will contribute to research activities related to social media and news ecosystems. The Research Associate will work closely with the project team led by the Principal Investigator (PI) and collaborate with social scientists and other research partners. The position involves a combination of independent research tasks and coordinated, team based work within an interdisciplinary research environment.
Responsibilities*
The Research Associate will be expected to:
- Conduct background research on social media, news dissemination, and information ecosystems
- Work with social media and news-related datasets, including data collection, preprocessing, and documentation
- Apply or support computational and data?driven methods to analyze patterns of news sharing, engagement, and interaction
- Collaborate with social scientists and other domain experts to frame research questions and interpret findings
- Contribute to coordinated project activities, including shared documentation and progress tracking within the research team
- Assist with the analysis, synthesis, and visualization of research findings
- Contribute to the preparation of research reports, scholarly articles, and presentations
- Support communication and collaboration among project team members and external collaborators as needed
Required Qualifications*
- Master's degree in Computing, Computer Science, Data Science, or a closely related field (degree completion by start date acceptable)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to work independently while contributing effectively to an interdisciplinary research team
Desired Qualifications*
- Prior experience working with social media or news datasets
- Familiarity with computational social science, data analysis, or information studies
- Experience collaborating with social scientists or interdisciplinary research teams
- Industry or applied experience related to data analytics, platforms, or information systems
- Interest in misinformation, news credibility, public discourse, or social media analytics
Modes of Work
Hybrid
The work requirements allow both onsite and offsite work and an employee has an expected recurring onsite presence. On occasion, the employee may be required and must be available to work onsite more frequently if necessitated by unit leadership or their designee and/or the job requirements.
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.
Background Screening
The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.