PhD position on the topic of advanced psychometrics (1.0 FTE)

Department

Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences

Organisation

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, University of Groningen, V25.0159

Job description

Did you study the topics assessment and/or psychometrics during your master’s programme? Do you enjoy programming in R and are you up for a challenge? Are you motivated to contribute to solving important societal questions by developing algorithms, adjusting existing statistical models and conducting simulation studies?

If so, we strongly encourage you to read on and to apply for this vacancy for a 4-year PhD position on the topic of advanced psychometrics. You will work with a broad team consisting of both psychometricians and neuropsychologists on a project that aims to improve assessment procedures for patients recovering from cancer. This PhD trajectory will offer you the opportunity to acquire a very diverse skill-set that will prepare you for a future in research in a world where there is an increasing need for professionals with hands-on experience with complex assessment algorithms.

This position is funded by the Dutch Cancer Society as part of a larger research project. The aim of the research project is to develop an assessment instrument that screens for cognitive deficits in patients with cancer. The instrument to be developed in this project will be based on the principles of computerised adaptive testing (CAT) and item response theory (IRT), and thus the tasks presented to the test-taker will be selected on the fly by an algorithm taking the performance on previous tasks into account. In this project, the PhD student will assess item selection and stopping rules, explore innovative ways to combine subtests, and analyse test item characteristics. The end product is an algorithm that provides the best possible recommendation on whether the patient's doctor should refer them for a full neuropsychological evaluation.

In order to achieve this overall aim, our research team will collaborate closely with software company Eyra Leap BV for the Implementation of the instrument, after the research project has been concluded.

The PhD candidate will be supervised by Dr Muirne Paap, Prof. Sanne Schagen, and Dr Niek Frans. The main location will be Groningen, with planned research visits to the labs of the project leader Prof. Sanne Schagen in Amsterdam (Antoni van Leeuwenhoek) and collaborator Prof. Bernard Veldkamp in Enschede (Utwente).

The main tasks of the PhD student are:

- Using advanced IRT models that model response time and task completion simultaneously;
- Conducting simulation studies to determine the appropriate sample size required for the use of IRT models for neuropsychological assessment instruments;
- Estimating IRT-parameters for the instruments used in this study with aforementioned models;
- Developing a CAT algorithm that combines various outcome measures and formats in a single instrument;
- Developing a decision rule that results in sound advice for the clinician;
- Conducting research that results in a dissertation and is in line with the objectives and requirements of the project;
- Publishing the results of the research in international scientific journals;
- Presenting the research findings to fellow scientists and developers in the larger project, and collaborate with them; and presenting the findings at (inter)national conferences.
- Teaching activities (max 15% of your time would be devoted to this), such as supervising practicals.

Organisation
Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen enjoys an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative institution of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Flexible study programmes and academic career opportunities in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 34,000 students and researchers alike to develop their own individual talents. As one of the best research universities in Europe, the University of Groningen has joined forces with other top universities and networks worldwide to become a truly global centre of knowledge.

The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences excels in teaching and research in the fields of human behaviour, thinking, learning, and how people live together. We address societal issues and problems that people experience in daily life. The focus of our approach is on individual and societal resilience and how to improve this. Important topics are migration, the environment and climate, health, upbringing and education, the protection of vulnerable minorities, and sustainable partnerships. The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences employs over 650 staff members. For more information about the Faculty please check the link https://www.rug.nl/gmw/

The unit of Child and Family Welfare is, together with the unit of Inclusive and Special Needs Education, responsible for the research and teaching programme ‘Orthopedagogiek’. Both units are part of the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, and closely collaborate in the areas of teaching and research. The Child and Family Welfare unit participates in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes of the Department. On a Bachelor’s level, we provide courses on a wide range of topics that are specific for the Child and Family Welfare field, including a Clinical Minor ‘Orthopedagogiek’. On a Master’s level, we teach in the Master track ‘Orthopedagogiek’, and participate in other Master tracks within the Department, including the Master Youth, Society and Policy, and the faculty wide Research Master track.

Requirements

- We are looking for a motivated candidate holding a (research) master’s degree in psychology (or equivalent), who can demonstrate a strong background in psychometrics (e.g., by having obtained high grades on relevant courses, having conducted a relevant internship, other relevant experience).
- Note, that you need to have obtained the appropriate master’s degree at the latest by September 1st, 2025.
- The candidate has experience with scientific programming (ideally using R).
- Experience with or interest in neuropsychology is a bonus.
- We are looking for a candidate who enjoys writing in English and is enthusiastic about the prospect of writing scientific articles resulting in a PhD thesis.
- Good communication and excellent academic writing skills in English are required, similar skills in Dutch are appreciated but not strictly required.
- The candidate has demonstrable capabilities in the following competencies: conceptual skills, presenting, planning and organising and monitoring progress, contributes to a good working atmosphere, takes initiative, can work well together, works in a structured way.

Conditions of employment

Contract length: 48 months.

We offer you, following the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities

- A salary of € 2,901 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,707 gross per month in the fourth and final year for a full-time working week.
- A holiday allowance of 8% on top of gross annual income and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
- A full-time position (1.0 FTE). The successful candidate will initially be offered a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year indicating that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the next three years is to be expected. A PhD training program is part of the agreement, and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics and Sociometrics (IOPS).

Intended starting date: September 1st 2025

Job Application

You may apply for this position until 20 March 11:59pm / before 21 March 2025 Dutch local time (CET) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website). Only submissions via the application form will be considered. The selection interviews will take place April 15, 17 and/or 23. The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/ Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen. Acquisition for this vacancy is not appreciated.

Additional information

For additional information, please contact:

Dr Muirne Paap, Associate Professor of Psychometrics
[email protected]

In your application, please always include the job opening ID V25.0159

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