One-year research assistant in political science on project about mobilizing bystander reactions to online political hostility

The Department of Political Science at Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, invites applications for a one-year position as full-time research assistant, offering applicants an exciting opportunity to join the ERC Consolidator Grant project “Standing by: Pro-social Bystander Reactions to Online Political Hostility” (STANDBY) research team, and specifically work on the ERC Proof-of-Concept subproject “Development and Mass-dissemination of Intervention to Mobilize Pro-social Bystander Reactions to Hostile Content on Social Media” (STANDBYCOMMS).

The starting date is May 1, 2024, or subject to mutual agreement. The position is full time but if desired it is possible – subject to mutual agreement- to be employed part time for the first three months.

The research project

Online political hostility, such as online hate speech, constitutes a challenge to democracy through negative effects on political participation. To combat online hostility, social media platforms and providers of comment sections, e.g. online news media, invest significantly in moderating content via automated detection and take-downs as well as flag-and-delete procedures. However, the sheer number of posts and comments that need moderation often far exceed what is feasible to handle.

The apparent inability of top-down content moderation to tackle online hostility on social media calls for consideration of alternative strategies. One strategy is to turn attention to further user engagement in moderation, i.e. mobilizing users to report hostile content by other lay authors, but also to engage in counter-speech. Sadly, research suggests that only in 10-30% of cases of online hostility do bystanders intervene and take action to help victims or express disapproval. The challenge to political participation and democratic deliberation posed by online hostility is amplified by this widespread apathy among bystanders. This is regrettable, as research suggests that pro-social bystander reactions can be effective in countering online hostility and improve the quality of online deliberation.

To realize the potential of pro-social bystander reactions to online hostility, we need to overcome the tendency for bystander apathy in situations of online hostility. We must promote a behavioral change away from the current norm of passivity by encouraging pro-social bystander reactions through interventions providing guidance and motivation. Building on an extensive behavioral analysis of bystander behavior in response to online hostility conducted within the ERC-CoG STANDBY-project, we have developed and tested a guidance message – the ‘Speak up, Report, Support’ intervention – which has proven effective in mobilizing pro-social bystander reactions to online hostility.

The aim of STANDBYCOMMS is to improve this intervention in collaboration with world-leading experts in behavior change, field test the intervention at scale, and build and market an online library facilitating mass-dissemination of the intervention free of charge to end-users (media corporations, government bodies, NGOs, political parties, individual politicians etc. who provide comment sections on social media platforms).
The project is led by Professor Lasse Lindekilde and funded by an ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant for the period of November 2023 – May 2025. The overall STANDBY-project website can be found here . A short interview about the STANDBYCOMMS-project can be found here . 

Job description

We invite applications for one position as research assistant for a period of one year.

The STANDBYCOMMS-project consists of five work packages. The successful candidate will be involved in all five work streams. First, we will conduct a set of interviews with end-users of our ‘Speak up, Report, Support’-intervention as well as conduct a handful of feasibility studies, where end-users try out the intervention in practice. Second, we will collaborate with world-leading experts at the

Melbourne Center for Behavior Change

to improve and fine-tune our intervention. Third, we will conduct a large-scale field experiment testing the effect of the intervention. Fourth, we will work in collaboration with a software developer to design a website offering our intervention to end-users free of charge, ready to use, in different languages along with implementation guides. Finally, we will work together with a marketing company to create a campaign marketing our intervention website to potential end-users.

The successful applicant will be involved in designing and carrying out research tasks (interviews, feasibility studies, field experiment etc.) and in organizing collaboration with stakeholders (e.g. end-users, MCBC, software developer). Furthermore, the successful applicant will be involved in writing up research evidence and content for the intervention website.

The successful applicant will be employed as part of a research group consisting of Professor Lasse Lindekilde (project leader/principal investigator), three assistant professors/postdoctoral candidates and several research assistants. Research will primarily be carried out collaboratively with other project members, while the successful applicant will oversee certain work streams.

Your qualifications

Applicants are expected to hold a degree in political science, communication, (social) psychology, sociology or cognitive science. Maybe you are finishing your studies and is thinking about applying for a Ph.D. in the future? If so, this temporary employment can be a good way to gain insight into research-based work. In addition to an interest in conducting collaborative research within the focus area of the project, all applicants should demonstrate some knowledge of social media research, experience with conducting interviews and designing experiments, and have an excellent command of spoken and written English. Experience with website development and/or maintenance is an advantage.  

Interested applicants should submit an application letter (2-3 pages) motivating why the applicant is interested in being part of the STANDBYCOMMS-project and how the applicant can contribute to the success of the project. Beyond the application letter, the application should contain a CV, relevant diplomas, and transcripts of grades. Selected candidates will be asked to come for an interview.

Who we are

The Department of Political Science is one of the six departments at

Aarhus BSS

, one of the five faculties at Aarhus University. Aarhus BSS unites the business and social science-related research fields and brings them closer together to reflect the close relationship between society and the business community. As part of a Top 100 university, Aarhus BSS – and specifically the Department of Political Science – has achieved the distinguished AASCB, AMBA and EQUIS accreditations.

At the Department of Political Science, we emphasise a dynamic and flexible research and teaching profile characterised by pluralism and openness. With around 90 academic staff members and 40 PhD students, we offer a lively and ambitious research and teaching environment.

The research carried out at the department not only covers a variety of political science disciplines, but also represents a variety of methodological approaches. This not only enables us to focus on new problem areas as they appear on the national and international political arenas, but also allows us to contribute actively to the development of the discipline. We also emphasise communicating our research results to the political-administrative system and to the public in general.

For more information about the Department of Political Science, please see here .

Further information

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Professor Lasse Lindekilde (

[email protected]

) prior to submitting their application to learn more about the position and the research project.

If you need help uploading your application or have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Coordinator Mette Fisker Præstegaard, Tel.: +45 9352 2807, Email: [email protected]

Place of work

Department of Political Science, Bartholins Allé 7, DK – 8000 Aarhus C.