The Information Science Pathway of the ESRC Scottish Graduate School of Social Science Doctoral Training Centre (SGSSS-DTC) is currently inviting applications for this year’s studentship competition.
Academic staff at each of the pathway member institutions – including those within the Centre for Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University – would be pleased to hear from eligible candidates who would like to apply for a PhD place under this scheme. Applications are due for submission to the SGSSS-DTC by Wednesday 17th February (explained below). However, initial contact regarding this opportunity must be made by Monday 11th January 2016.
Applicant interests should align with the focus of the Information Science pathway research. This places emphasis on the relationship between the use of information and societal development within the broader context of the ESRC SGSSS-DTC. The key areas of interests of the Information Science pathway are:
- The social and economic impact of information
- The legal and regulatory context for the collection and use of information
- The technologies for the management of information
- Information policy and strategy
- Information behaviour and use
- Library and information management
Applicants should meet the following requirements:
- Hold a good first degree (first class or 2.1).
- Hold a Masters degree in a social science subject that includes significant coverage of qualitative and quantitative research methods (at least 60 credits of appropriate research methods training), or be on target to complete such a Masters degree before the start of the academic year 2016/17.
- Be a United Kingdom citizen, or be a resident of another European Union country.
- Submit a research proposal that aligns with the key areas of interest of (a) the Information Science Pathway, and (b) the institution to which the application is being made.
Further details on these requirements can be found on the eligibility page of the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science web site.
The pathway partner institutions would be particularly interested in hearing from applicants who hold (or who are working towards) Masters degrees in subjects such as Information Science; Information Management; Information Studies; Information Systems; Knowledge Management; Records Management; and Science, Technology and Innovation Studies.
If you are interested in making an application for a studentship under this scheme at Edinburgh Napier University, you should make initial contact with me (Professor Hazel Hall – h.hall@napier.ac.uk) by Monday 11th January 2016 (or preferably sooner) to check your eligibility to apply. We will then arrange a telephone or Skype call to discuss research proposal ideas, and potential supervision arrangements at Edinburgh Napier. (Possible supervisors include my immediate colleagues in the Centre for Social Informatics such as Dr Laura Muir, Dr Colin Smith, Dr Gemma Webster and Peter Cruickshank.) This conversation will also provide an opportunity to discuss in further detail the application process.
The next stage will be for you to complete the Edinburgh Napier research degree application form to be submitted directly to me by email at h.hall@napier.ac.uk (and not to the general research degrees admissions e-mail address) by midday on Monday 18th January 2016.
Interviews will be held on the afternoon of Wednesday 27th January at the Merchiston campus of Edinburgh Napier University. Decisions on who will be invited to take their applications to the next stage will be made by Monday 1st February 2016.
Candidates who pass the internal Edinburgh Napier application process will then be authorised to start the application process on the ESRC SGSSS-DTC system: initial registration needs to be made by Friday 5th February 2016. Following ESRC elibility checks, candidates will then be invited to submit their full applications to the ESRC SGSSS-DTC system by Wednesday 17th February 2016. The outcome of these applications is expected to be known by 6th May 2016.
Candidates who are considering making an application to Edinburgh Napier University through this scheme are encouraged to explore how their research interests align with those of the staff and research students within the Centre for Social Informatics. This can be done by checking the Centre’s pages on the web site of the Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation. From here you will see that we carry out research that is broadly concerned with the intersection of people, communities and technologies, and that incorporates themes such as:
- Democratic digital engagement
- Digital culture
- Digital economy
- e-Government
- Information policy
- Information seeking behaviour and use
- The Information Society
- Information systems for organisational effectiveness
- Knowledge management
- Online communities
- Open data and open government
Our recent and current research students within the Centre for Social Informatics engage in a range of doctoral studies on topics that include:
- Means of enhancing organisational learning to develop innovation
- The impact of social media tools on tacit knowledge sharing practices between employees within public sector organisations
- The evolution of social networking and its impact on career management skills
- Personal online reputation management
- The role of libraries in the development of social capital and citizenship
- The value of census information to policy making
- The influence of off-line and online spaces on participation in community and civic life
- Sociotechnical aspects of information risk
- Knowledge working as a management innovation
- Processes of knowledge creation, creativity and innovation
- The impact of organisational factors on information systems development projects
Hazel Hall 