Job Description

About the role

We are looking for Volunteer Researchers who enjoy going beyond the first page of search results.

Research is central to how Rock & Art works. We are interested in people who can investigate a subject, locate meaningful sources, identify gaps in existing knowledge, establish context and help writers build arguments on solid foundations.

A researcher at Rock & Art is not simply someone who collects links.

We are looking for people who can ask:

What do we actually know?

How do we know it?

What is missing?

Whose perspective is absent?

What historical, political or cultural context changes how we understand this subject?

Your research may support an individual article, a long-term editorial cluster, a larger research project or the development of Rock & Art’s permanent knowledge base.

What you will do

Depending on the project, you may:

• Research cultural, historical, political and social subjects.
• Locate and evaluate primary and secondary sources.
• Identify academic literature, books, archives, institutional publications, interviews and reliable journalism.
• Research historical context and timelines.
• Investigate the origins and development of cultural movements, practices and ideas.
• Identify relevant people, organisations, works, events and concepts.
• Build research dossiers and source lists.
• Create annotated bibliographies.
• Extract relevant information from longer sources.
• Identify conflicting interpretations or gaps in available evidence.
• Flag claims that require further investigation.
• Provide researchers and writers with contextual material.
• Help identify perspectives that are missing or underrepresented.
• Contribute research to editorial clusters and longer-term knowledge projects.
• Organise research so that it can be reused in future Rock & Art work.
• Follow relevant Rock & Art Editorial System (RAES) research and documentation standards.

You will not be expected to know RAES before applying. Relevant research workflows and standards will be introduced during onboarding.

What we are looking for

We welcome researchers from a wide range of backgrounds.

You may be:

• a researcher or independent scholar;
• a university student or graduate;
• a journalist;
• a historian;
• a researcher in the humanities or social sciences;
• an archivist or librarian;
• a cultural worker;
• an academic;
• an experienced independent researcher;
• a subject specialist with extensive knowledge of a particular field.

Formal academic qualifications are not required for every research role.

We care about your ability to investigate carefully, distinguish reliable evidence from weak evidence and document what you find.

Strong candidates will generally demonstrate:

• strong research skills;
• excellent written English;
• curiosity and persistence;
• the ability to evaluate sources critically;
• attention to detail;
• good documentation habits;
• the ability to distinguish primary from secondary sources;
• comfort working with complex or contradictory material;
• intellectual honesty;
• respect for attribution and citation;
• an understanding that absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence;
• willingness to communicate uncertainty rather than fill gaps with assumptions.

Experience with academic databases, archives, libraries, oral histories, institutional records or specialist publications is welcome.

Areas of research

We are particularly interested in researchers with knowledge of areas such as:

• music and sonic cultures;
• art history and visual culture;
• literature;
• film and media;
• fashion and subcultures;
• gender and sexuality;
• bodies and kinky culture;
• political and cultural history;
• social movements;
• identity and representation;
• cultural memory;
• countercultures;
• radical and experimental art;
• cultural theory;
• emerging cultural practices;
• digital and contemporary culture.

You do not need expertise in all of these areas.

A strong knowledge of one field can be highly valuable.

Our research philosophy

Rock & Art treats research as part of knowledge production, not as invisible labour that disappears once an article is published.

We believe:

Evidence matters more than assumption.

Sources must be attributable.

Context must precede analysis.

Uncertainty should be acknowledged.

Knowledge is collective.

Research should remain useful beyond a single article.

We are interested not only in finding information, but in understanding how information becomes knowledge.

That means questioning sources, recognising gaps, identifying competing interpretations and being transparent about the limits of what can be established.

Additional Information

What you can expect from Rock & Art

Although this is an unpaid volunteer position, we want the experience to be meaningful and structured.

You can expect:

• clear research assignments and objectives;
• relevant RAES research frameworks and documentation standards;
• collaboration with writers and editors;
• opportunities to work on long-form cultural research;
• exposure to a range of cultural and interdisciplinary subjects;
• the opportunity to develop research and documentation skills;
• recognition of research contributions where appropriate;
• the opportunity to contribute to a permanent cultural knowledge resource;
• the possibility of developing into specialist research or knowledge-curation roles.

We want research contributions to remain useful. Where appropriate, research materials may inform future articles, editorial clusters, archives and knowledge projects rather than being discarded after one publication.

Time commitment

This is a flexible volunteer role.

Researchers may participate on an occasional, project-based or ongoing basis.

The scope of a research assignment will depend on the subject. Some tasks may take only a few hours; larger research projects may develop over several weeks.

We will agree expectations and deadlines in advance.

We value reliability and clear communication over the number of hours someone can contribute.

Important information about this opportunity

Location: Remote — worldwide
Position type: Volunteer
Compensation: Unpaid / no financial compensation
Employment status: This is not an employment position
Commitment: Flexible, agreed according to availability
Language: English
Experience: Open to emerging and experienced researchers

How to apply

Please submit:

1. A short introduction explaining who you are and why you would like to contribute to Rock & Art.
2. Your CV or a brief overview of your academic, professional or independent research background.
3. One or two examples of research work , where possible. These can include academic research, journalism, annotated bibliographies, independent research projects, archival work or other relevant material.
4. A short description of one subject, cultural field or question you would be interested in researching for Rock & Art.

Your proposed research subject does not need to be a finished pitch. We are interested in seeing what questions you ask, where your curiosity leads you and how you approach evidence.

If you do not have formal research samples, tell us about a subject you have independently investigated and what you learned from the process.

We are looking for people who are curious enough to keep digging, rigorous enough to question what they find, and generous enough to turn research into knowledge that others can use.