Or the externally funded project “DANCE – Dark Nerd Communities: A multi-method exploration of toxic degradation in the adolescent technosphere“ commencing on 1 March 2026. We are offering a fixed-term part-time position (65% FTE) for a maximum of 5 years (corresponding to the project’s duration).
Your tasks:
You will work in a large-scale, five-year research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) that investigates toxicity and radicalization processes in youth cultural ‘nerd communities’ related to topics such as gaming, science fiction, fantasy, comics and new technology. The project, led by Prof Thorsten Quandt, aims to not only contribute to a better understanding of how hate, sexism and extremism emerge within such groups but also to develop prevention and protection strategies to make the digital sphere a “better place.” A distinctive feature of the project is the combination of classical qualitative and quantitative social research methods with computational approaches. This advertised position focuses on qualitative social research. Your tasks will include:
* Contributing to the planning, implementation and analysis of ethnographic (online) studies on ‘dark nerd communities’ on platforms such as Reddit, Discord, Twitch or Steam
* Contributing to the planning, implementation and analysis of qualitative interviews and focus groups
* Presenting research findings at national and international conferences
* Publishing research results in primarily English-language international journals
* Opportunity to contribute to other parts of the project (e.g., lab experiments, computational content analyses)
* Opportunity to work towards a PhD within the Online Communication research group
Our expectations:
* An excellent academic degree (master’s or equivalent) in communication science or a related empirical social science, such as (media) psychology, (media) education or (media) sociology
* A strong interest in topics related to radicalization and toxicity in online communities
* Interest in, and ideally knowledge of, social dynamics within youth cultural ‘nerd communities’ related to topics such as gaming, science fiction, fantasy, comics and new technology
* Very good to good knowledge of qualitative research methods, particularly semi-structured interviews and focus groups, and the willingness to further develop these skills
* Experience with qualitative data analysis software such as MAXQDA
* Ideally, prior experience in analyzing qualitative interviews and/or focus groups (e.g., as part of a master’s thesis)
* Excellent command of English, both written and spoken
* Strong teamwork, communication and organizational skills, as well as an independent, reliable and structured working style
Advantages for you:
* The opportunity to work in a large, research-oriented Communication Science team and to gain experience within a European Excellence Project
* Individual mentoring and opportunities for further training and professional development
* The chance to participate in international conferences and benefit from the group’s extensive network of academic collaborations (International mobility during the PhD phase is actively supported and explicitly encouraged)
* A working environment characterized by appreciation, reliability, openness and mutual respect
The University of Münster strongly supports equal opportunity and diversity. We welcome all applicants regardless of sex, nationality, ethnic or social background, religion or worldview, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity. We are committed to creating family-friendly working conditions. Part-time options are generally available.
We actively encourage applications by women. Women with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered unless these are outweighed by reasons which necessitate the selection of another candidate.
If you have any questions, please contact Prof Thorsten Quandt ( thorsten.quandt@uni-muenster.de ). Are you interested? Then we look forward to receiving your application by 2025-11-28 via email at University of Muenster
Department of Communication
Prof Thorsten Quandt
Reference number: ERC_2
kommunikationswissenschaft@uni-muenster.de Your application can only be considered if submitted as a PDF file. Please note that we are unable to accept any other file formats Reference number: 2025_10_26