Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Citizen Attitudes Towards National and International Problems (CATNIP) Project 

About us

Citizen Attitudes Towards National and International Problems (CATNIP) Project Abstract: Political scientists have collected rich data for understanding the preferences of citizens regarding which policies their governments ought to enact, as well as for investigating where these preferences do and do not exist, and how they reflect underlying values. In contrast, we have poor data and methods for understanding which problems citizens think are most severe and which government policy should be urgently addressing.

These questions of problems and priorities are difficult to investigate because they are challenging to formulate in terms of closed-ended survey questions that yield cross-nationally and inter-temporally comparable data. This project addresses this gap by developing innovative survey experimental techniques to measure citizens’ views about problem severity and priority. These methodological advances will enable this project to answer important questions about how citizens understand what politics and policy-making are trying to achieve, and how they interact with media information sources and their representatives.

First, which people, in which countries, are relatively engaged with and prioritise global problems (e.g. international environmental, security, and economic issues) by comparison to local or national problems? Are views about political problems generally stable over time, at the level of individual citizens or at the level of populations? Second, to what extent do major media sources and/or political actors set the problem agenda for citizens, versus responding to citizens’ own problem agendas? Third, what are the electoral implications of politicians and media emphasizing or de-emphasizing specific problems? When is articulating a problem, perhaps even in the absence of articulating a policy solution, an important component of gaining credibility with voters?

About the role

The ERC Advanced Grant project Citizen Attitudes Towards National and International Problems (CATNIP) is seeking to appoint two postdoctoral research fellows. The project runs from September 2025 to August 2030, these two posts are expected to be held from September 2026 to August 2029. The project is based in the Department of Political Science at University College London. These positions are full time, three year postdoctoral fellow roles, suitable for early career researchers who are at the point of completing their PhD or who have recently completed their PhD.

The appointed Fellows will work with the project Principal Investigator (PI) to develop the research design, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination and publication of the project’s research. The two Fellows will each be focused on distinct parts of the project, and will be expected to bring requisite skills as specified in more detail in the person specification below.

• One fellow will work primarily on the design, data collection, and analysis of surveys (including survey experiments) of citizens in a range of countries.
• One fellow will work primarily on the design, data collection, and analysis of text data generated by the activity of media and elite political actors in a range of countries.

The Fellows will be expected to work independently and collaboratively as co-authors with one another and with the PI. These positions are intended to advance the research aims of the project, but to also be a valuable opportunity for the Fellows to develop their research profile and careers. The Department of Political Science at UCL is a leading international centre for political research, and the Fellows will be integrated into a broader research cluster of staff and PhD students working in the areas of Comparative Political Economy and Behaviour.

The appointment is expected to be at Grade 7, at UCL spine point 31. Appointment at a higher spine point within Grade may be possible if the appointed individual has significant relevant research experience post-PhD). The salary at this spine point is £45,103 in 2025/26 (inclusive of London Allowance), and is expected to be adjusted upwards in light of national pay negotiations for 2026/27. Annual incremental pay progression applies across the term of the position according the UCL’s pay policies.

About you The postholder(s) will have a PhD in Political Science or related field, or nearing completion of such a PhD and on track to submit dissertation in advance of the agreed start date. Experience of either: (1) Experience designing, commissioning/fielding, analysing, and disseminating surveys and survey experiments of citizens. Aware of and competent to apply recent methodological advances in this area. Or (2) Experience designing, collecting data for, analysing, and disseminating quantitative analyses of political text data. Aware of and competent to apply recent methodological advances in this area.

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