I’m hiring a postdoc to work on forensic meta-science. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Apply by November 15th, 2026 for full consideration.

Summary

  • Start date: Between 01.03.2027 and 01.04.2027
  • Employment: 100%, fixed-term. Approximately 11 months’ salary is available. There is a specific amount of funding available, and your salary depends on your age and experience, so the exact length of the contract will be adjusted accordingly.
  • Workplace: Psychology of Digitalisation, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern

Project description

This postdoc position is funded by 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). This 18-month forensic meta-science project will produce the first systematic futures-oriented assessment of AI threats to scientific integrity over a 5-year horizon.

You will work under me, Dr. Ian Hussey. My research group is embedded in the broader department of Psychology of Digitalisation chaired by Prof. Malte Elson. The department brings together researchers with interconnected interests in meta-science, AI, Human-Computer Interaction including usability testing, social media, and privacy and security.

This project aims to design a roadmap for the current and future development of methods and tools to help formalise ‘science sleuthing’ into structured Trustworthiness Assessments, e.g., as part of Cochrane’s INSPECT-SR tool, which our research group contributes to. Our department is already active in this area (e.g., development of the R packages strait and scrutiny, the BRIMMER test, and AI-assisted meta-science tools including RegCheck).

Your role

Within the larger project, your responsibilities will include:

  • Conducting cognitive task analyses with members of the science ‘sleuth’ community: sitting alongside sleuths as they examine papers, using think-aloud and interview methods to trace the steps they take, what they notice, and why, in order to elicit and document their practices and methods for detecting errors and inconsistencies.
  • Co-organising and running workshops with sleuths in Bern to refine the resulting taxonomy and assess which checks could be automated.
  • Analysing these qualitative data in depth to develop a taxonomy of sleuthing practices and feasible forensic meta-science / Trustworthiness Assessment checks.
  • Creating a roadmap for such checks that can be formalised into methods and tools, including within agentic workflows for Trustworthiness Assessment.

You may also contribute to the wider research group’s efforts to develop, validate, and apply such forensic meta-science methods and tools.

Teaching opportunities are available in English and/or German, but there are no teaching requirements.

Your profile

Essential

  • Education: A PhD in Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Epidemiology, Research Methods, or a related field.
  • Research interests: Demonstrated interest in (forensic) meta-science, scientific error detection, trustworthiness assessment, or quality assessment within research synthesis.
  • Interpersonal skills: Comfortable working closely with people, building rapport with expert practitioners and eliciting knowledge from them, and observing and asking questions to understand their processes (what they do and why).
  • Language: Strong written and spoken English.
  • Availability: Willingness to commute or relocate to Bern, Switzerland, and to begin between March 1st and April 1st, 2027. This is an in-person or hybrid commuting position; remote work is not available.

Desirable

  • Cognitive task analysis: Familiarity with cognitive task analysis, process tracing, think-aloud protocols, or similar methods for eliciting how experts work and why.
  • Qualitative methods: Experience designing, conducting, and analysing qualitative research (e.g., in-depth interviews, observation, thematic or framework analysis).
  • Science sleuthing: Familiarity or prior experience with science sleuthing (e.g., PubPeer, forensic meta-science checks).

What we offer

  • Competitive salary:
    • Gross salary depends on your experience, age and circumstances, following the standard UniBe salary determination process, but is ~CHF 91,000/year including 13th month (~EUR 98,000 / ~USD 110,000), plus employer contributions to the Swiss state pension (AHV) and insurances.
    • 100% FTE. A precise amount of funding is available; the duration of the contract will be determined within this available funding (~11 months).
  • International support: We have experience supporting international hires through the process of applying for a Swiss residence permit (B-permit) through their employment.
  • Language environment: English-speaking research group.
  • 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.
  • Career development:
    • Access to training in research methods.
    • This position has no teaching obligations, but opportunities for teaching at bachelors or masters level are available (in English or German), including contributing to existing courses or designing and delivering your own.

Diversity & inclusion

We explicitly encourage applications from women and candidates from underrepresented backgrounds in academia.

How to apply

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Apply by November 15th, 2026 for full consideration, or on a rolling basis after this.

Send the following documents to ian.hussey@unibe.ch:

  1. A motivation letter (max 2 pages) describing your relevant skills and research interests.
  2. An academic CV, including publications and preprints, and relevant technical skills and evidence of them (i.e., links to your GitHub and OSF profiles or similar).
  3. Contact information for 2 references.
  4. A one-page document describing one or two representative projects that demonstrate your interests and skills relative to the project. This can be broadly conceived. For example, it could include a brief description of the relevance of a publication or preprint, a qualitative or interview study you conducted, a PubPeer comment you have written, an R package or method you have contributed to, or your involvement in a meta-science initiative.

Questions about the position or the application can be sent to PD Dr. Ian Hussey (ian.hussey@unibe.ch).