The Media Studies department is looking for a versatile, highly motivated post-doctoral researcher to work on dedicated retrieval tools for Web archives. The position is part of the WebART project (Web Archive Retrieval Tools), conducted in close collaboration with the Web archive of the Dutch National Library (KB) The Hague, and the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI). WebART is funded through the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under its Continuous Access To Cultural Heritage (CATCH) program.

The advent of the Web has had a revolutionary impact on how we acquire, share and publish information. In fact, it has a fundamental impact on our daily lives that increasingly take place "on the Web." However, this increasing dependence on the Web comes at a price: the ease of publishing on the Web also results in the easy loss of information -Web content tends to be ephemeral. The WebART project will critically assess the value of Web archives for realistic research scenarios, and develop information access tools and methods that maximize the archive's utility for research. Our approach is to conduct actual Web archive research hand-in-hand with the development of Web archive access tools tailored to the realistic research scenarios. Technically, we will use structured DB/IR technology to let searchers construct, store, share, and reuse complex search strategies corresponding to emerging digital research methods for the Web and Web archive.

Requirements

• The candidate should hold a PhD in a relevant subject, and have a strong background in: 1. New Media, especially the Web and Web archiving; 2. Digital research methods specific to the Web as a medium; and 3. Critical reflection on current Web and Web archive practices.
• Extensive experience in applied Web (archive) projects is a must.
• Experience with related methods from the social and exact sciences, such as social network analysis, Web link based methods or visual analytics, is a definite advantage.

Further information

A detailed description of the WebART project can be found at http://staff.science.uva.nl/~kamps/webart/

For further details please contact Dr.ir. Jaap Kamps, e-mail ‘kamps@uva.nl’.

Appointment

The appointment will be for a period of three years at the department of Media Studies within the Faculty of Humanities. The gross monthly salary will be between € 3,195 and € 4,374 ("Onderzoeker 3"; salary scale 11, according to the collective labor agreement Dutch universities) in the case of a full-time position (38 hours/week).

Job application

Applications should include a letter of motivation, a detailed curriculum vitae, a publication list and two letters of reference. The application should be sent - before December 7, 2011 - by e-mail to ‘webarchiving@gmail.com’. Please quote the vacancy number in the subject field.