Department of Applied Social Sciences
Postdoctoral Fellow / Research Assistant
(Ref. 260827010)
(1) Postdoctoral Fellow
[Appointment period: twelve months initially, with possibility of further appointment]
(2) Research Assistant
[Appointment period: twelve months initially, with possibility of further appointment]
Duties
The appointees will assist the project leader in the research projects - “Generative AI chatbots as a psychosocial intervention for parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A pilot study in Guangzhou”, “Enhancing public service access and utilization among parents of disabled children in China: Is parent organization a bridge and enabler?” and/or “Unraveling the well-being of personal care workers in community care: A mixed methods inquiry”. They will be required to:
(a) assist in project management and administration;
(b) liaise with non-governmental organisations on the recruitment of participants;
(c) conduct data collection for quantitative and qualitative studies;
(d) conduct data analysis;
(e) conduct literature review;
(f) draft research proposals, reports and academic manuscripts; and
(g) perform any other duties as assigned by the Head of Unit or his/her delegates.
Qualifications
Applicants for the Postdoctoral Fellow post should have a doctoral degree, preferably in Social Work, Sociology, Nursing or other social science and health science related disciplines or an equivalent qualification and must have no more than five years of post-qualification experience at the time of application.
Applicants for the Research Assistant post should have an honours degree, preferably in one of the above-mentioned disciplines. Preference will be given to those who hold a master’s degree in one of the above-mentioned disciplines or demonstrate willingness to pursue a doctoral degree, and/or possess research/relevant work experience.
Applicants should also:
(a) have experience in conducting both quantitative and qualitative research;
(b) have an excellent command of academic writing in English;
(c) have an excellent command of Chinese, including fluency in Cantonese;
(d) be proficient in using statistical software programmes such as SPSS, Mplus, R or STATA;
(e) demonstrate research competence in disability and/or long-term care services;
(f) have good communication skills to liaise with research partners and participants;
(g) have good problem solving skills; and
(h) be responsible, independent and proactive.
Applicants are invited to contact Prof. Shixin Huang via email at daisy.huang@polyu.edu.hk for further information.
Conditions of Service
A highly competitive remuneration package will be offered.
Consideration of applications will commence on 3 September 2026 until the positions are filled.
Posting date: 27 August 2026