Role: Research Assistant
Grade and Salary: Grade 6, £31,236 - £36,636 per annum
FTE and working pattern: 1FTE, 35hrs per week, Monday - Friday
Contract: Fixed-Term, 6 Months
Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)
Purpose of Role
The Theoretical and Empirical METaknowledge (TEMET) lab at Heriot-Watt is seeking a Research Assistant (RA) to help with data collection and other tasks, starting late February 2026 or earliest thereafter.
The RA will be working within the auspices of the pan-European WIDERA consortium project iRISE (Improving Reproducibility In SciencE) under the guidance of Dr Daniele Fanelli, within the School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University.
The core task involves curating the data sources for the project, in particular helping to collect data and portions of text from samples of published studies and preparing them for subsequent analyses. Depending on the candidate's interest and skills, they may also be directly involved in the development and testing of Natural Language Processing techniques and AI applications to analyse this data. Secondary tasks include helping with the organization of events, materials, and small administrative tasks related to the project.
Funds are available for up to 6 months full-time employment, but part-time employment may be considered as well.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
* Help to identify and collect samples of scientific studies from suitable databases, collect meta-data of these articles, prepare texts extracted from them.
* Contribute to the development of novel, transferable methodologies to analyse the scientific literature.
* Help with and contribute to dissemination activities, such as conferences and workshops.
* Help with general management of the project and research group (e.g. web page and social media communication).
Essential & Desirable Criteria
Essential
1. You should have a Master's degree in a quantitative subject (any disciplinary background is accepted).
2. Some knowledge and experience conducting literature searches and data collection.
Desirable
1. Programming and statistical skills (especially R and/or Python).
2. Experience and/or a demonstrable interest in graphical methods of knowledge representation and/or quantitative text analysis and Natural Language Processing and/or AI.
3. Knowledge and practical understanding of basic concepts in information theory (e.g. Shannon Entropy, Kolmogorov complexity).
How to Apply
Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Thursday 12th March 2026.
Please submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system 1) Brief cover letter describing your suitability for the post 2) Full CV including list of publications. We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g., part-time working and job share options.
Please note that application screening will begin from Monday 23rd February 2026.
For any enquiries about this position please contact Dr Daniele Fanelli.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our university community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers .
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About Heriot-Watt University
At Heriot-Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.