PhD Student/ Postdoc Position in Meta-Science

Project Description

This position is part of the project 'Synth: Evaluating Transformer Models to Generate Synthetic Replications, Nomological Nets, and Peer Reviews'. Synth aims to develop tools for researchers that leverage large language models to improve quality of research.

This role focuses on the use of RegCheck (regcheck.app), a tool that compares study registrations against the papers reporting them to identify deviations from the planned research. RegCheck's core infrastructure is built and an initial evaluation of its accuracy is currently underway (for more information on RegCheck, please see our preprint. The selected candidate will help develop, test, and extend RegCheck. Depending on your interests and strengths, this could mean conducting field studies that involve integrating RegCheck into peer-review workflows (e.g., at journals), developing new extensions to the existing infrastructure, or a combination of both.

The project is jointly funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) as part of the priority program META-REP with Co-PIs Prof. Dr. Ruben Arslan (University of Witten/Herdecke), Dr. Björn Hommel (University of Leipzig). Further collaborators within this project are Jun.-Prof. Dr. Beth Clarke (ZPID/University of Trier) and Dr. Jamie Cummins (University of Bern), who is the main developer of RegCheck.

The selected candidate will join the Psychology of Digitalisation research group at the University of Bern, led by Prof Malte Elson. The group brings together
researchers with interconnected interests in Meta-Science, LLMs, Privacy and Security, Human-Computer Interaction, and Media Effects. Although our team works primarily in psychology, RegCheck has been developed for (and is used by) researchers spanning the social and medical sciences, and we therefore welcome applications from prospective candidates from any of these fields.

Your role

In this role, you will help drive the next phase of RegCheck's development, leading empirical work on how RegCheck performs in practical settings and shaping where the tool goes next. Depending on your interests and strengths, your responsibilities could include:

• Leading studies evaluating RegCheck's usability and real-world performance, including field trials with journals and editorial teams.
• Developing and testing extensions to RegCheck.
• Contributing to RegCheck's open-source codebase and reproducible analysis pipelines.
• Preparing publications and presenting at international conferences.
• Collaborating on projects connected to RegCheck and optionally co-supervising student projects connected to RegCheck.

You will build expertise in large language models and metascience as part of our international team, with scope to pursue other collaborative research projects. Teaching opportunities are available in English and/or German.

This position is available as either a Postdoc or PhD position (the postdoc position will be an 18 months contract; the PhD position is an initial 18-month contract, with extensions of up to 4 years in total for the entire PhD).

Your profile:

• Education: A Master's degree or PhD in Metascience, Psychology, Human-Computer-Interaction, Medicine, Epidemiology, Economics, Research Methods, Statistics, or a related field.
• Technical skills: Working knowledge of R for data management and statistical analysis; an understanding of how LLMs work and experience using them programmatically (e.g. via an API) or a strong willingness to learn.
• Research interests: A deep interest in meta-science, open science practices, and trustworthiness assessment/quality management of research.
• Familiarity with the principles of open and reproducible research.
• Language: Strong written and spoken English.
• Availability: While this position is in-person, there is great flexibility in working hours. The ideal start date is November 1st.

What we offer

• Competitive salary:

PhD salary is approximately CHF 50,000 Gross including 13th month (~EUR 54,000 /~USD 63,000). Note: PhD students in Switzerland hold dual status as both employees and enrolled students; annual student fees are approximately CHF 200.
Postdoc salary for an early Postdoc is approximately CHF 91,000 Gross including 13th month (~EUR 98,000 /~USD 111,000).

• Thriving intellectual environment:

Bern is fast becoming a hub for metascience, with active metascientists working across psychology, medicine, epidemiology, and economics. You would join a community of metascientists within and beyond the university, with strong international connections, and a team that produces cutting edge open-source research tools, and genuinely cares about improving science.

• Career development:

Access to training in research methods, scientific writing, and university pedagogy. Learning and collaboration opportunities with approximately 10 other researchers, postdocs, and faculty in our research group. Teaching experience opportunities are available (in English or German). We also offer support for fellowship/grant applications, or developing an independent research line.

• Quality of life:

Bern is one of the world's safest cities. It is walkable and UNESCO-listed with excellent public transport links, outdoor recreation, and a lively international academic community. Switzerland consistently ranks among the top countries in the world for quality of life. Our department has experience supporting international hires and has a streamlined process in place for residence permit applications (B-permit).

Diversity & inclusion:
We are committed to building a diverse research group and especially welcome applications from women and people underrepresented in metascience and the computational social sciences. We are happy to discuss flexible working and support needs.