Research Fellow (Communication/Media Studies/Computational Social Science/Information Science/Computer Science/Data Science)

The Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI), together with the Earth Observatory of Singapore, is looking for a Research Fellow to make an important contribution to the research project: “Climate Transformation Program (CTP): Cross Cutting Theme 1 – Sustainable Societies” funded by the MOE Tier 3C Grant. CTP aims to develop, inspire, and accelerate knowledge-based solutions and educate future leaders to establish the stable climate and environment necessary for resilient, just, and sustainable Southeast Asian societies.

CTP will generate knowledge and innovation across disciplines including climate and Earth science, ecology, materials science, artificial intelligence, humanities, social sciences and the arts, finance, health, and engineering. It will also translate state-of-the-art scientific results into real world solutions for Singapore, and it will transfer these solutions to Southeast Asia (SEA) and beyond.

As part of this programme, “Cross-cutting theme 1: Sustainable Societies”, this theme will leverage climate research in communication, public opinion and psychology, and artistic impressions to shape public attitudes and behaviours towards climate change issues. The Research Fellow will work directly with the PI of the Sustainable Societies theme, Professor Shirley Ho, based in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at NTU.

The successful candidate will contribute to an interdisciplinary research program by:

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  Conducting literature reviews and supporting manuscript development

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  Collecting and analysing online public discourse data using sentiment and content analysis methods

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  Applying statistical and computational techniques to analyse large-scale textual datasets

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  Contributing to peer-reviewed journal articles and conference presentations

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  Preparing progress reports and final research outputs

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  Supporting dissemination of findings to academic and public audiences

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  Assisting with general project coordination and administrative tasks as required

We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with:

• PhD in Communication, Media Studies, Computational Social Science, Information Science, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related discipline.

• Demonstrated expertise in sentiment analysis, opinion mining, or computational analysis of media and public discourse. Candidates should be able to connect computational analysis with communication theories and research questions.

• Strong quantitative research skills and proficiency in Python or R. Experience with large-scale textual data, natural language processing, machine learning, transformer-based models, or large language models is required.

Additional strengths that would be beneficial include:

• Experience with fine-tuning or prompting large language models for sentiment, emotion, stance, or framing analysis.

• Experience analysing large-scale textual data from sources such as social media, news, or online communities.

• Experience collecting data through APIs or web scraping.

• Experience preparing grant proposals and contributing to funded research projects.

• Knowledge of open-science practices, including reproducible workflows, preregistration, and research-data management.

• Ability to lead collaborative projects with third-party data companies, coordinate internal and external stakeholders, and manage project timelines, deliverables, and quality. Prior experience in project management or industry–academia collaboration is preferred.

• A strong publication record or demonstrated potential to publish in reputable communication, computational social science, or interdisciplinary venues. Candidates should be able to independently develop research questions, conduct analysis, prepare manuscripts, and deliver project milestones.

• Strong academic writing and presentation skills, with the ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary team. Experience supervising research assistants, contributing to grant proposals, or managing research projects is advantageous.