Research Fellow (Communication Studies / Psychology / Behavioral Science)

The Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI), together with the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), is looking for a Research Fellow to make an important contribution to the research project: “Building community resilience against sea-level rise: Baseline, engagement strategies, and long-term adaptation” funded by the National Research Foundation.

This project aims to enhance Singapore’s resilience to sea-level rise by examining public risk perception, tolerance, adaptation readiness, and long-term behavioural responses for the community (inclusive of residents and businesses). The key objectives are to (1) establish a baseline assessment of risk perception, risk tolerance, and adaptation readiness; (2) identify and analyse their underlying determinants through both self-reported and objective behavioural measures; (3) develop and map resident and business archetypes based on their attitude towards sea-level rise; (4) design targeted engagement strategies tailored to these archetypes; and (5) simulate long-term resident and business responses to adaptation interventions.

The Research Fellow will work directly with the Co-PI of the project, Professor Shirley Ho, based in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at NTU.

The Research Fellow is expected to oversee and implement Modules A and C of the project:

• Module A: Survey design, behavioural modelling, data collection for risk perception baseline

• Module C: Design and evaluation of engagement strategies (6×4 factorial experiments)

Key Responsibilities: 

(1) Survey instruments and focus group/interview guides for resident and business segments

(2) Behavioural experiment design and execution for risk perception and adaptation readiness

(3) Risk Perception and Adaptation Readiness Report (contributing author on engagement chapters)

(4) Data-driven framework for climate risk communication (integrating gamification, VR, behavioural science)

(5) Conference presentations (2 international conferences under Prof. Shirley Ho)

(6) Contribution to at least 2 journal articles in top 10% journals

(7) Work associated with the program of research as necessary.

Job Requirements: 

(1) PhD in Communication, Psychology, Sociology, Social Science, or a related social science field

(2) Strong background in survey design, psychometric instrument development, and behavioural experiments

(3) Experience with risk perception, science/climate communication, or public engagement research

(4) Proficiency in quantitative analysis (R, Stata, or SPSS): factor analysis, ANOVA; SEM (R/lavaan or SPSS AMOS); LCA (R/poLCA, Mplus, or Stata)

(5) Qualitative research skills: focus group facilitation, qualitative data analysis (NVivo)

(6) Familiarity with factorial experimental design

(7) Strong academic writing skills for top-tier journal publication

Interested applicants are invited to submit a cover letter, full CV and names and contact details of three referees in one document. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview.

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Hiring Institution: NTU