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Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba

Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba

Studentship opportunity

All Studentship Opportunities

Contributing cross cultural meaning to sentiment analysis: a case study of qualitative data sets on youth and uncertainty from Ethiopia and Nepal

This studentship is funded by the ESRC through the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS)

Institution
University of the Highlands & Islands
Pathway
Communication, AI and New Technologies
Studentship
Steers – Interdisciplinary
Mode of study

Full-time / Part-time

Application deadline
4pm, 14 April 2022
Applications are due 10 April, 5 pm BST and
References are due 16 April, 5 pm BST

Project details

Previous ESRC-FCDO funded research in Ethiopia and Nepal showed that concepts such as uncertainty, insecurity, resilience, and marginalisation are not easily translatable across cultural contexts (Johnson et al., 2022). Research was conducted with 500 youth living in fragile and conflict affected environments leading to the publication of datasets on youth and uncertainty. This studentship will use these datasets to develop a new interdisciplinary methodology for the culturally sensitive application of natural language processing, drawing on approaches from human geography, data science, and cultural studies.
The lexicons applied in natural language processing are informed by the cultural contexts of their development – predominantly English language, privileged, white, male, Global North cultures – that can carry forth unconscious biases in their applications. If natural language processing techniques can be consistently applied to datasets from diverse cultural contexts, they could substantially enhance research capacity in the Global South. This studentship will contribute new understanding on how sentiment analysis and other natural language processing techniques can be meaningfully applied to datasets constructed in fragile social contexts in the Global South.
This studentship provides a unique opportunity to work with national researchers in Ethiopia and Nepal to contribute new, culturally relevant principles and processes for the application of natural language processing. The student will be supported to develop an interdisciplinary methodology that engages with advanced data science methods and participatory and decolonising approaches, backed by a supervisory team with specific expertise in participatory and collaborative methods, natural language processing, and decolonising research. Training across disciplines will be integrated throughout the studentship to foster transformative applications of these approaches and ensure ethical and culturally sensitive collaborations with national researchers. Timely completion is supported by well-established and trusted partnerships in Ethiopia and Nepal, revisiting existing partnerships and risk assessments, and a readymade published ESRC dataset linked to youth profiles.
Supervisory Team:
  • First Supervisor: Professor Vicky Johnson, Vicky.Johnson.ic@uhi.ac.uk
  • Second Supervisor: Dr Andrew Duncan, Andrew.Duncan.ic@uhi.ac.uk

About the University

The University of the Highlands and Islands is a distinctive partnership of locally based independent colleges and research institutions rooted in communities, but with national and international reach and significance.
Our results from the UK-wide 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) confirm our strong position in the research landscape of the UK, with nearly three quarters of the research publications we submitted for assessment deemed to be world leading or internationally excellent. Our impact ratings (a measure of our reach and influence in business and our communities) particularly in Unit of Assessment 25 – ‘Area Studies’ aligned with this studentship was world leading. The postgraduate student experience at UHI has been consistently rated as the best in Scotland.
The Centre for Living Sustainability, situated at UHI Inverness campus, aims to amplify the voices of underrepresented people in communities across the Highlands and Islands and internationally. It takes an interdisciplinary and creative approach to research and innovation to understand complexity, change and uncertainty, and supports a lively student environment for postgraduate studies in the social sciences and humanities. You will be part of this growing community, guided by subject experts, building knowledge and skills, in a supportive, collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • Applicants will have a first degree (undergraduate) and have a demonstrable interest in the topic area under investigation.
  • Applicants can have a Masters degree, however this is not a requirement.
  • Applicants can study part-time or full-time

Funding

As per guidance published by UKRI in October 2020, a maximum of 30% of all studentships awarded can be made to international students, with the remaining 70% going to home students. 

Residential Criteria

To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have settled status, or
  • Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

If you do not meet the criteria above, you will be classed as an international student. To establish if you would be classed as a home student, please see pages 4 and 5 of the UKRI eligibility guidance here

As per guidance published by UKRI in October 2020, a maximum of 30% of all studentships awarded can be made to international students, of which SGSSS has now awarded for the 2021/22 round of studentship awards. As such, this opportunity is only open to home students.

Residential Criteria

To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have settled status, or
  • Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

If you do not meet the criteria above, you will be classed as an international student and will not be eligible to apply. To establish if you would be classed as a home student, please see pages 4 and 5 of the UKRI eligibility guidance here.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a +3.5 (3 year PhD and placement) or a 1+3.5 (Masters year, 3 year PhD, and a placement) studentship depending on prior research training. This will be assessed as part of the recruitment process, however you can access guidance here to help you decide on which to apply for. The programme will commence in October 2025. The full ESRC studentship package includes, as advised by ESRC:

  • An annual maintenance grant (stipend)
  • Fees at the standard institutional home rate
  • Students can also draw on a pooled Research Training Support Grant (RTSG)

Other information

This studentship will bring together interdisciplinary learning to develop culturally meaningful protocols and processes for application of natural language processing techniques in politically and environmentally fragile contexts.
The supervisory team and training plan crosses the fields of human geography and sociology of youth, data science, and cultural and decolonial studies. This studentship will innovate new protocols and processes for culturally meaningful application of sentiment analysis in politically and environmentally fragile contexts in the Global South. The research will address cultural and age-related issues that arise in the deployment of sentiment analysis, including how to capture fast evolving youth culture and language.
If you have a query regarding postgraduate studies at UHI please contact gradresearch@uhi.ac.uk
If you have an academic query, please contact one of the supervisory team at the Centre for Living Sustainability at UHI Inverness.

How to apply

  1. Applicants must register on SGSSS Apply, completing their Equal Opportunities data.
  2. Applicants must apply via SGSSS Apply, uploading the following documentation:

    • Application Questions (answered within SGSSS Apply, no upload needed)
    • Academic transcripts
    • Academic prizes
    • Referee information
    • CV
    • Other information (if required by the advert)
We strongly encourage applicants review the applicant guidance document for more on the process. 

Please Note:

  • This is not an application to the relevant University, this is an application for SGSSS (ESRC) funding.
  • Students do not need a Masters/PhD offer from the relevant University before they can apply for funding, i.e. this studentship.
  • If successful in obtaining the SGSSS (ESRC) studentship, students can only start the funded studentship once they have an unconditional Masters/PhD degree offer from the relevant University. It is your responsibility to find out the University’s application process, including when you need to secure your offer, as SGSSS plays no role in this process.

This studentship opportunity will open for applications on 9th June.

Apply now via SGSSS Apply

Selection process

Applications will be ranked by an internal institutional selection panel, and you will be notified if you have been shortlisted for interview on or around 23rd April. Interviews will take place around 29-30th April.

This studentship award is subject to the successful candidate securing admission to a PhD programme within the University of the Highlands and Islands. The successful candidate will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme.

Contact details

Name
SGSSS Team (for questions on the application portal, only), for any questions on the project, email the first & second supervisors (see details in abstract above)
Email
team@sgsss.ac.uk

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