Promovendus. Effectiviteit Evalueren Met

**Tilburg University | Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences**

is looking for a PHD

**PhD in Methodology and Statistics**
**Evaluating effectiveness with qualitative data: Moving beyond quantification in assessment of evidence**

Department: Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Location: Tilburg
Contract size: 1.0 fte (40 hours per week)
Full-time gross monthly salary: €2.900 - €3.707
Contract duration: 12 months wit a possible extension of 36 months.
Desired starting date: February 2025

Do you want to contribute to the effectiveness of (psychosocial) interventions, improving their impact for actual daily practice by using qualitative data (i.e., interviews, focus groups, policy documents)?

**Your position**

The project will be supervised by Dr. T Haven, Dr. De Smet and Dr. Emons.

**Your responsibilities**
- Your research work includes literature reviews, developing and extending methodologies, analyzing theoretical & practical properties, conducting qualitative and mixed methods studies, analyzing empirical data, and writing research report.
- You will prepare scientific articles to be published in international journals, present key findings at national and international scientific conferences, and write a dissertation.
- You will actively participate in the Department of Methodology and Statistics.
- You will contribute to Open Science and Team Science.
- You will contribute to education and supervision (e.g. supervising bachelor’s theses and research skills groups; not more than 10% of your time will be devoted)

The ultimate aim of this PhD project is to arrive at a novel protocol for evaluating qualitative evidence. This protocol will provide a broadly applicable step-by-step guide and standards for qualitative evidence. Accompanying research papers and (national and international) conference contributions are planned to facilitate the broad dissemination of this work.
To develop a novel protocol, this PhD project will combine knowledge from 1) existing guidelines 2) practice-based needs and 3) expert consensus.

1. Existing guidelines will be derived by conducting a methodological review on the topic to identify the currently existing guides for reviewing the effectiveness of qualitative evidence.
2. Practice-based needs will be examined in two case studies in the (mental health) care field in the Netherlands. Interviews and focus groups with stakeholders will be held, as well as analyses of relevant policy documents.
3. Expert consensus will be derived from a Delphi study with international experts in intervention studies in the social sciences.

Background
There are broad calls to move beyond the average patient, participant or citizen in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. Whether it regards therapeutic interventions, policy interventions, or social engagement interventions, calls to consider qualitative, ideographic data are frequent. However, it is currently unclear how to integrate or use qualitative data to determine the effectiveness of a particular intervention. The project aims to develop broadly applicable guidelines to determine effectiveness based on qualitative data.

**Your profile**

Other requirements include:

- A (nearly) completed (research) master’s thesis in the social and behavioral sciences.
- Research skills and data analytical abilities (preferably qualitative), including in-depth knowledge of evidence synthesis.
- Communication and cooperation skills and the willingness to work in a team
- Project management and organization skills
- Interest in open science and team science
- Proficiency in Dutch (C1 level) is required for the qualitative data-gathering and analysis
- Proficiency in English and willingness to improve academic writing skills
- Interest in providing small-scale education, such as teaching working groups or bachelor thesis supervision

**Our offer**
Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment:

- A position based on 1.0 fte (40 hours per week).
- A salary of minimum €2.901 and maximum €3.707 gross per month for full-time employment, based on UFO profile PhD and salary scale PhD. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system based on relevant work experience.
- This is a vacancy for for a PhD in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 sub b CLA DU. You will initially be given a temporary contract for the duration of 12 months.
- Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
- Over 8 weeks of vacation leave.
- The opportunity to work partly on campus and partly from home with a home office allowance of €2 per day.
- Reimbursement for sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transport.
- A monthly internet allowance of €25.
- An options model in which you exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center.
- Employees from abroad may be eligible for a tax-free allowance for extrater