Position Summary: The Department of Library and Information Science at Rutgers University is recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Associate. The post is part of a larger investment focusing on interdisciplinary research relating to online harms and content moderation on social media websites. The ideal applicant will have prior experience in conducting qualitative research on content moderation and an interest in examining online harms and evaluating the use of various approaches to address them.
About the Project
In this specific role, you will contribute to an NSF -funded project on understanding the use of flagging mechanisms to address online harms. The Principal Investigator (PI) for this project is Prof. Shagun Jhaver.
Social media platforms expose users to online harm, such as hate speech, non-consensual sharing of sexual photos, impersonation, harassment, and doxing. The widespread occurrence of such harm has had damaging effects on individuals and society. To alleviate such harm, platforms offer flagging, a technical feature that empowers users to report inappropriate posts or bad actors. Flags play a critical role in maintaining the feasibility of content moderation systems — an initial step to identifying content that requires careful review by moderators or automated tools. However, prior research shows that reporting harms can be experienced as secondary victimization, especially when victims perceive a lack of procedural justice. It is, therefore, vital to design flagging interfaces in ways that ease the negative experiences of reporting. To accomplish this goal, we must understand how users make sense of flagging, what information they seek, and how they navigate flagging interfaces.
Toward this goal, this project will be executed in two phases:
1) A user study with interactive prototypes to examine the awareness, navigation, and usage issues encountered while using flagging interfaces to report a post.
2) Participatory design workshop sessions to develop prototypes for post -flagging information and communication systems.
In each phase, the appointee will work closely with the PI to codesign research outputs with individuals from marginalized communities, including BIPOC users, LBGTQ+ users, and women, who face disproportionate online abuse. The research team will draw from the interpretive lens of procedural justice and its notions of voice and consistency to investigate how users develop their fairness perceptions of the flagging processes. About the Role
Ideally, you will have advanced skills in reviewing and integrating relevant literature, independently writing research manuscripts, and deploying qualitative methods such as interviews and design workshops. Prior experiences with building HCI systems or interactive prototypes would be an advantage. The team will publish research results for multiple outputs, including peer-reviewed papers for leading HCI venues, e.g., ACM CHI and ACM CSCW , and white papers for industry-focused organizations, such as the Trust & Safety Professional Association. You will have an opportunity to work alongside student researchers from historically underrepresented groups in computing and the academy for this project. You will also be part of the vibrant research community at Rutgers School of Communication & Information , and especially have the ability to engage with the Rutgers Computational Social Science Lab . There would be additional opportunities to collaborate on research other than the above project and engage in grant seeking activities.
The funding for this position is available for two years. The candidate will initially be hired for one year. This appointment would be renewed for an additional year, conditional on satisfactory performance. This is a full-time research position. No teaching is required.
Contact Prof. Shagun Jhaver (sj917 at rutgers.edu) if you have any questions about this position. Priority consideration will be given to applicants who apply by May 10, 2024. Application Deadline is May 25, 2024.
Minimum Education and Experience: ? You must have earned a Ph.D. in Information Science, Computer Science, Communication, or a related field by the appointment start-date (07/01/2024). The start-date is flexible.
? You must have strong writing skills, expertise in qualitative research methods, and evidence of excellence in conducting peer-reviewed research on content moderation or online harms in higher education settings.
City: New Brunswick
State: NJ
Posting Number: 24FA0453
About Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a leading national public research university and the state's preeminent, comprehensive public institution of higher education. Rutgers is dedicated to teaching that meets the highest standards of excellence; to conducting research that breaks new ground; and to turning knowledge into solutions for local, national, and global communities. As it was at our founding in 1766, the heart of our mission is preparing students to become productive members of society and good citizens of the world. Rutgers teaches across the full educational spectrum: preschool to precollege; undergraduate to graduate and postdoctoral; and continuing education for professional and personal advancement. Rutgers is New Jersey's land-grant institution and one of the nation's foremost research universities, and as such, we educate, make discoveries, serve as an engine of economic growth, and generate ideas for improving people's lives.
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