Understanding privacy concerns in the use of location in social media

The Geographic Data Science Lab (GDSL) at the University of Liverpool is seeking a motivated individual to work on a project that involves exploring how activity in social media may expose users’ privacy. Specifically, various sources of social media data will be explored, including twitter, reddit and Facebook data, and analysed to understand different aspects of sensitive information including personal characteristics, preferences, and visited locations. This information will be used for studying how individual privacy is at risk over time for different user-reported locations. The research output will be a privacy framework for social media data. The selected student will be supervised by Dr. Olga Gkountouna and Dr. Ron Mahabir at GSDL. Work is expected to involve computational and geographical approaches such as GIS mapping and text mining, and student should expect to take part in working on research articles and conferences.

Start Date: 1st October 2023

Further Details:

This PhD project is funded by The Faculty of Science & Engineering at The University of Liverpool and will start on 1st October 2023.

Successful candidates who meet the University of Liverpool eligibility criteria will be awarded a Faculty of Science & Engineering studentship for 3.5 years, covering UK tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend (e.g. £17,688 p.a. for 2022-23).

Faculty of Science & Engineering students benefit from bespoke graduate training and £5,000 for training, travel and conferences.

The Faculty of Science & Engineering is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience. Our recruitment process considers potential with the same weighting as past experience. Students must complete a personal statement profoma and ensure this is included in their online application.

How to Apply:

All applicants must complete the personal statement proforma. This is instead of a normal personal/supporting statement/cover letter. The proforma is designed to standardise this part of the application to minimise the difference between those who are given support and those who are not. The proforma can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/ym2ycne4. More information on the application process can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/mwn5952t. When applying online, students should ensure they include the department name in the ‘Programme Applied For’ section of the online form, as well as the Faculty of Science & Engineering as the ‘studentship type’ in the finance section.