The PhD project will focus on the affordances of open science infrastructures. Data sharing is central to contemporary science. As support for data sharing, visiting, and re-use has grown, a range of new forms of research infrastructure has emerged, from university depositories to public and private data- and knowledge bases. This project will critically examine this landscape, exploring what kinds of data sharing and re-use practices are afforded by different models for open science. It will lay the groundwork for novel approaches to documenting data as a process to cater to the diversity of inter- and cross-disciplinary data needs. Merging computer science and qualitative and quantitative social science methods, the project will explore the conceptual data models that underpin different infrastructures and how this affects data discovery, use and interpretation; examine the logics and practices of different infrastructures and how these relate to imaginations of data sharing; and work to make recommendations regarding best practice in developing research infrastructures that aid open science.
Candidates should have a relevant Master’s degree (e.g. Science and Technology Studies, Computer Science/Informatics, HCI, Data Science, Information Science, or related disciplines) with evidence or experience of interdisciplinary work. Ideally, they will have a background that combines computer science and social science training, with experience of the key methods of these fields (e.g. programming, statistical analysis, interviewing, ethnography).
Full details are on the application website. The deadline is 31 August 2025. Queries can be addressed to Laura Koesten and/or Sarah Davies.
