Postdoc in Forensic Meta-Science

**Projekt Description** ----------------------- This postdoc position is funded by the UKRI under its Metascience funding scheme as part of the project "After the Flood: Near-Future Scenarios and Countermeasures of AI-Accelerated Research Fabrication" (PI: Prof Sebastian Deterding, Imperial College London). You will work under Dr. Ian Hussey, whose research group is embedded in the broader department of Psychology of Digitalisation chaired by Prof. Malte Elson. This project aims to design a roadmap for the current and future development methods and tools to help formalise 'science sleuthing' into structured Trustworthiness Assessments. **Your role / profile** ----------------------- * Conducting cognitive task analyses with members of the science 'sleuth' community. * Co-organising and running workshops with sleuths. * Analysing these qualitative data to develop a taxonomy of sleuthing practices. * Creating a roadmap for such checks that can be formalised into methods and tools. * Teaching opportunities are available in English and/or German, but there are no teaching requirements. Your profile Essential: * A PhD in Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Epidemiology, Research Methods, or a related field. * Demonstrated interest in (forensic) meta-science, scientific error detection, trustworthiness assessment, or quality assessment within research synthesis. * Comfortable working closely with people, building rapport with expert practitioners and eliciting knowledge from them. * Strong written and spoken English. * Willingness to commute or relocate to Bern, Switzerland, and begin by between February 1st and April 1st. This is an in-person or hybrid commuting position; remote work is not available. Desirable: * Familiarity with cognitive task analysis, process tracing, think-aloud protocols, or similar methods for eliciting how experts work and why. * Experience designing, conducting, and analysing qualitative research (e.g., in-depth interviews, observation, thematic or framework analysis). * Familiarity or prior experience with science sleuthing (e.g., PubPeer, forensic meta-science checks). **What we offer / Diversity and inclusion** ------------------------------------------- * Salary in accordance with University of Bern regulations. * English-speaking research group. We explicitly encourage applications from women and candidates from underrepresented backgrounds in academia. **Application and Contact** --------------------------- Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until filled. Apply by November 30, 2026 for full consideration. Send the following documents to ian.hussey@unibe.ch: * Motivation letter (max 2 pages) describing relevant skills and research interests. * Academic CV, including publications and preprints; relevant technical skills and evidence of them (i.e., links to your GitHub and OSF profile or similar). * Contact information of 2 references. * A one-page document