We are seeking two post-doctoral researchers for a three year ESRC funded project that aims to make it easier and more productive for social researchers to use the fixed and mobile digital sensors (including energy and ambient fixed sensors, and sensors in mobile phones) that are becoming available from the Internet of Things and ubiquitous computing. The project, ‘HomeSense: digital sensors for social research’ has recently been funded under the National Centre for Research Methods’ call for methodological research (see http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/ ). Both posts will involve providing training to potential users of sensors for research, the preparation of articles for publication, and contributing to dissemination events.
The project will examine the technical, ethical and methodological issues arising from the deployment of sensors, using the home and household as a case study. A sample of households will be recruited and asked to install a range of sensors, data from them collected centrally and the data analysed using data mining tools. The data will be compared with data from more conventional methods and guidelines developed concerning issues such as consent, privacy, and data security. An important part of the project will be providing training about the use of sensors through NCRM.
The Qualitative Research Fellow will be responsible for data collection, the design of interview guides, conducting qualitative fieldwork in households, analysis of interviews, developing the guidelines and day-to-day management of the project under the supervision of the Principal Investigator, Professor Nigel Gilbert. This post would suit a senior researcher with previous experience of qualitative interviewing and analysis.
The Computational Research Fellow will implement and install the sensor suite and the processing software under the guidance of the Co-Investigator, Professor Klaus Moessner, develop a simple mobile phone app, and assist with the fieldwork and development of the guidelines. This post would suit a computational social scientist with programming skills (Java, databases) and experience of social research.
The posts will be located in the Centre for Research in Social Simulation http://cress.soc.surrey.ac.uk within the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey.
The University of Surrey is a global university with a world-class research profile and an enterprising spirit. Inventive and forward-thinking, its heritage shows a recurring theme of going its own way, doing things differently – and achieving notable results. The University of Surrey has risen in all major league tables for UK universities in the past year. We’re incredibly proud to have been named University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016. We’ve climbed from sixth to fourth place in the Guardian University Guide for 2016, moved up to eighth place in the Complete University Guide 2016. Additionally, we have been ranked as 5th in the National Student Survey which showed student satisfaction at 92%.
Further information about the University and the Department of Sociology can be found at http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/.
To apply please visit https://jobs.surrey.ac.uk
Interviews will be held during week commencing 11th January 2016.
We acknowledge, understand and embrace diversity.

Professor Nigel Gilbert, ScD, FREng, FAcSS, Professor of Sociology,
University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK. +44 (0)1483 689173
Surrey is 38th in QS World University Rankings for Sociology http://goo.gl/xvo77W