Project Assistants

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the worlds top universities. The University has around 46 000 students and 8 500 staff based in Lund Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand explain and improve our world and the human condition.

The Research Project

Studies on access to justice suggest that people living under uncertain conditions refrain from using the law to resolve their legal problems. Instead they do nothing. This phenomenon involves handling legal problems outside conventional legal pathways. Despite extensive literature on this topic there is limited research on how and why individuals according to their own accounts deal with legal issues outside legal avenues. The project investigates the following research questions: How do people practice and understand doing nothing when dealing with legal problems What can the practice of doing nothing teach us about the relevance of formal legislation in legal strategies among people living in precarious conditions The project examines these questions in a marginalized residential area in Sweden. It offers a new bottom-up approach to studying access to justice and dispute resolution challenging existing paradigms about how and why individuals in vulnerable situations engage with the law.

Duties

The primary task is to organize and conduct at least 20 qualitative interviews relevant to the project transcribe them translate them (if necessary) and participate in coding and analysis. Before the interviews project assistants will receive thorough training in interview techniques and methods and throughout their employment they will be guided by the project researchers. Project assistants will participate in biweekly meetings and three full-day workshops during the employment period.

The working languages are Arabic Somali or Dari and Swedish/English.

Qualifications

Requirements

- Very good ability to communicate orally in Arabic Somali or Dari

- Ability to translate from Arabic Somali or Dari into Swedish or English

- Strong motivation and ability to work independently under time pressure

- Good collaboration and communication skills

Advantages

- Lived experience from so-called disadvantaged areas

- University/college-level education

- Experience with qualitative interviews

- Outgoing and sociable

Assessment Criteria

In the selection process primary emphasis will be placed on the qualifications described above. Very good oral communication skills are of great importance. Good collaboration and communication skills are also key criteria as are strong language skills both spoken and written. We strive to ensure diversity. Gender equality will be taken into account in this recruitment.

Application

The application should include:

- a cover letter in Swedish or English up to 1000 words including a brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications as well as a short description of why you are interested in working as a research assistant at the Sociology of Law Department Lund University;

- a CV in Swedish or English;

- copies of degrees and transcripts in Swedish or English;

- names and contact details of two referees;

- any other documents the applicant wishes to submit for this position.

Applicants will be assessed based on the above criteria and top-ranked candidates will be invited for interviews.

Fixed-term employment four months at 50% of a full-time position.

Start date:.

Other Information

For questions about the recruitment process contact Anna Melin at For questions about the position contact Ida Nafstad at

The Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University is one of the leading education and research institutions in Sweden and operates both in Lund and Helsingborg.

Sociology of law at Lund University is a subject within Social sciences focusing on the relationship between law and society such as the tension between the formal legislation of the government and the informal emergence of norms in civil society among other contexts. Research is conducted in fields such as gender and discrimination AI and machine learning childrens rights welfare legal cultures corruption migration financial security and crime. The department offers courses at all levels. The department also runs the bachelors program in criminology in collaboration with the Department of Sociology. The Sociology of Law Department is keen to engage in cross-disciplinary collaboration and has good contacts with professionals and public authorities.

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