Vacancy researcher in quantitative studies of science Centre for Science and Technology Studies

[Noijons, E.]

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences of Leiden University wishes to announce a vacancy for the following position:

Researcher in quantitative studies of science (38 hours per week)

Vacancy number: 13-061

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS)

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) is an interdisciplinary institute at Leiden University. Our research staff originates from many fields, varying from psychology, political science, literature studies and information science, to computer science, economics, physics and chemistry. We study the dynamics of science and its connections to technology and innovation. In other words, we study scientific and scholarly research from a scientific point of view. CWTS uses large databases that enable us to quantitatively discern the growth in scientific publications, patterns of collaboration, the impacts of science, and many other aspects of science such as scholarly communication and evidence-based performance assessment.

Our research is also used to provide high-quality services, via a university-owned company CWTS BV, to research institutes for evaluation of the impact of their publications and their standing in the international scientific community. In addition, we analyse the development of scientific careers, and the impact of research assessment on knowledge production, by way of mixed-methods research (including surveys and ethnographic methods).

Since 2012, we have focused our activities and interests within the framework of a new research program (www.cwts.nl/pdf/cwts_research_programme_2012-2015.pdf). CWTS has three chairs for full professors (Scientometrics; Science & Innovation studies; Science policy studies) as well as five working groups on key research themes (Advanced bibliometric methodologies; Evaluation practices in context; Social sciences and humanities; Scientific careers; Societal impact of research). The centre hosts a dynamic group of senior researchers and talented juniors who welcome collaboration with colleagues internationally and nationally. We can accommodate internships and provide students with supervision for Master’s and PhD theses.

Tasks

The researcher will spend part of his/her time (50%) on basic research and part of his/her time (50%) on contract research. Basic research will be in the field of quantitative studies of science, also known as scientometrics. In this field, science is studied quantitatively based mainly on bibliometric data (i.e., data on publications and citations). The researcher will join the bibliometric methods research group of CWTS. This research group is concerned with the development of new tools (e.g., indicators, statistical methods, and advanced algorithms for large-scale data analysis) to support research planning and evaluation. The researcher is expected to develop, in collaboration with other researchers at CWTS, his/her own line of research in the field of quantitative studies of science. This line of research should fit within the CWTS research program (available at www.cwts.nl/pdf/cwts_research_programme_2012-2015.pdf).

Contract research will consist of project work for CWTS BV, a business company of Leiden University that offers bibliometric products and services based on the research of CWTS. This contract work will often be closely linked to the basic research of CWTS. Contract research may also involve the development of new products and services.

Requirements

The researcher should have a PhD degree (or should be expected to obtain a PhD degree within four months) in a quantitative field of research, preferably within the social sciences or closely related fields (e.g., applied statistics, econometrics, or social network analysis). Researchers with a background in fields such as computer science (e.g., data mining or information retrieval) or physics (e.g., complex networks) may also fit well within the profile;

The researcher should have strong statistical and data analysis skills. He/she is expected to have an extensive knowledge of statistical and data analysis techniques and tools, and to be able to apply this knowledge in creative ways to solve new problems;

The researcher need not have a background in the field quantitative studies of science, but he/she should be willing to quickly become familiar with this field of research;

The researcher should have programming skills for dealing with large data sets (e.g., MATLAB, R, or SAS);

The researcher should have good writing and communication skills;

Experience with relational databases and the SQL language is desirable, but not necessary;

Teaching experience is desirable, but not necessary.

Appointment

We offer a temporary position as a researcher for a period of two years. Depending upon qualifications and experience, the gross monthly salary will be between €3227 and €4418 (scale 11), based on full time employment.

Benefits include pension contribution, annual holiday premium of 8% and an end-of-year premium of 8.3%. Non-Dutch nationals may be eligible for a substantial tax break (30% ruling).

Applicants should have the right to work in the Netherlands for the duration of the contract.

Additional Information

For more information, please contact Ludo Waltman (waltmanlr at cwts.leidenuniv.nl; +31 71 5275806 <tel:%2B31%2071%205275806> ).

Application

Letters of application should be accompanied by a full curriculum vitae and two or three references.

Applications should reach the university by March 28, 2013 and can be sent electronically to our Human Resource Department at vacature at fsw.leidenuniv.nl.

When your application reaches us we will send you confirmation by e-mail. If you have not received a confirmation within three days after sending the e-mail, please phone us at +31 71 527 3427 <tel:%2B31%2071%20527%203427> .

** We will schedule interviews in week 15 2013 **


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