Student Assistant with a Focus on Qualitative Analysis (m/f/d)

The Weizenbaum Institute, founded in 2017, researches the effects of advancing digitalization on our society. With its recommendations for action, it contributes to ensuring that the digital transformation is sustainable, self-determined and responsible. The Weizenbaum Institute is supported by a network of seven partners, including the Free University of Berlin, the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Technical University of Berlin, the Berlin University of the Arts, the University of Potsdam, the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS) and the Berlin Science Center for Social Research (WZB). The institute is financed by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the state of Berlin. It is located in Berlin.

For our BMFTR-funded project “Detecting Gender-Based Disinformation with Artificial Intelligence (GENDIS)” at the Weizenbaum-Institut e.V. we are looking at the earliest possible date for a Student Assistant with a Focus on Qualitative Analysis (m/f/d) with 25,64 percent of regular working hours (10 hours per week). The position is initially limited until 30th July 2029.

Project description

Are you interested in understanding how gender-based disinformation spreads across online platforms? Would you like to develop cutting-edge computational methods for analyzing multimodal online communication using Large Language Models (LLMs)? Join our interdisciplinary research team and contribute to an innovative research project investigating the dynamics of gender-based disinformation across digital platforms. The successful candidate will join a joint research project of the Weizenbaum Institute and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) that investigates the emergence, dissemination and societal impact of gender- and sexuality-based disinformation (GENDIS) in digital communication environments. GENDIS, including misogynistic, anti-LGBTQI+ related false and misleading claims, has become an increasingly prominent component of anti-democratic, illiberal propaganda and transnational influence campaigns. Amplified by digital platforms, these narratives disproportionately target vulnerable groups, contribute to social polarization and undermine democratic participation and trust in public institutions.

GENDIS aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework and empirical multimodal, cross-platform analysis that culminates in a tool for identifying and analyzing gender-based disinformation, with particular attention to both textual and visual forms of online communication. Situated in Political Communication, Politics and Gender and Computational Social Science (CSS), the project combines social science theory with computational social science methods including state-of-the-art LLMs to analyze cross-platform disinformation campaigns, investigate their actors, narratives, and dissemination dynamics and develop multimodal methods for detecting gender-based disinformation at scale. In close collaboration with the TU Munich and our practice partners Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Süddeutsche Zeitung and So Done, the project will also develop an open-source AI-based tool to support fact-checkers, civil society organizations, journalists and policymakers in identifying and responding to gender-based disinformation.

Job description

The student assistant will contribute to the empirical analysis of text and audiovisual data from multiple online platforms and support the development of high-quality datasets for the evaluation and training of LLM-based analytical tools. Working closely with interdisciplinary project partners, the successful candidate will employ contribute to qualitative analysis of validation datasets as well as computational methods to investigate platform-specific and cross-platform dynamics of gender-based disinformation.

Your tasks

• Contribute to validation datasets labelling
• Contribute to literature review research
• Contribute to interview transcription
• Contribute to qualitative empirical analysis of gender-based disinformation in multimedia formats
• Participate in and contribute to the organization of research activities and events at the Weizenbaum Institute and partner universities, such as workshops and colloquia
• Contribute to science communication initiatives and organizational tasks of the research project (social media management)
• Participation in the regular meetings of the team

Your profile

• Enrolment on an MA or equivalent course of study in Media and Communication Science or related disciplines (e.g., International Relations, Linguistics, History, Sociology, Computational Social Science or other disciplines)
• Relevant theoretical and/or applied understanding of media and politics, gender theory, disinformation
• Affinity and/or desire to learn social science or digital research methods, for example, interviews, content analysis, discourse analysis, surveys, ethnography, archival research, etc.
• Excellent oral and writing skills in German and English
• Computational skills or an interest in acquiring them would be an advantage
• Affinity for working in a group setting and collaborating effectively

Your opportunity

• flexible working hours and the option of mobile working (in consultation with team lead)
• remuneration analogue to TV Stud III
• insight into current research and everyday scientific work
• close cooperation with the scientific staff
• inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Berlin (near Bahnhof Zoo) with broad, interdisciplinary networks in research, media and politics

Further information

Severely disabled applicants with equal qualifications will be given preference. We value diversity and welcome all applications, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation. The Weizenbaum Institute expressly encourages women* and people with a migration background to apply.

Please apply through our application system until 7th September 2026. The application must include:

• Cover letter, describing your research interests, skills, and your fit to the research group;
• CV;
• Complete record of your courses, including grades and an explanation of the grading system;
• The names and contact information of at least two academic references (please do not include the letters themselves);
• A link to/ a copy of a written work product. Examples: thesis, course project, blog post, etc.

If you do not fit to all the criteria but nevertheless think that you could be a good fit to the group, we encourage you to apply.

For questions about the group, please reach out to the research group leader Dr. Elizaveta Kuznetsova (elizaveta.kuznetsova[at]weizenbaum-institut.de). Pre-application inquiries are explicitly encouraged.

If you have any technical question, please feel free to contact Maite Vöhl (she/her) from our HR team (personal[at]weizenbaum-institut.de) at any time. We look forward to receiving your documents.

Apply here