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About the Role

We are seeking Volunteer Researchers who are passionate about in-depth investigation, going beyond surface-level information to uncover meaningful sources, identify knowledge gaps, establish context, and support writers in building well-founded arguments. A researcher at Rock & Art is more than a link collector; they critically question what is known, how it is known, what is missing, whose perspectives are absent, and how context influences understanding. Research contributions will support articles, editorial clusters, larger projects, or the development of Rock & Art’s permanent knowledge base.

Responsibilities

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, organizations, 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.
Organize research for reuse in future Rock & Art work.
Follow relevant Rock & Art Editorial System (RAES) research and documentation standards.

Requirements

Ability to investigate carefully.
Ability to distinguish reliable evidence from weak evidence.
Ability to document findings.
Strong research skills.
Excellent written English.
Curiosity and persistence.
Ability to evaluate sources critically.
Attention to detail.
Good documentation habits.
Ability to distinguish primary from secondary sources.
Comfort working with complex or contradictory material.
Intellectual honesty.
Respect for attribution and citation.
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.
Ability to collaborate remotely and communicate effectively with the team.

Skills

Research
Critical evaluation of sources
Documentation
Written communication
Source identification
Contextual analysis
Information organization

Location

Remote — worldwide

Work Type

Volunteer
Remote

Experience Level

Open to emerging and experienced researchers

Education Level

Formal academic qualifications are not required for every research role.

Salary/Compensations

Unpaid / no financial compensation

Benefits

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.
Opportunity to develop research and documentation skills.
Recognition of research contributions where appropriate.
Opportunity to contribute to a permanent cultural knowledge resource.
Possibility of developing into specialist research or knowledge-curation roles.

About the Company

Rock & Art is an independent cultural journalism and knowledge platform exploring art, music, literature, identity, bodies, sexuality, politics, and subcultures through critical, intersectional perspectives.
We practice slow journalism: research-driven, long-form, and contextual work that seeks to understand culture rather than simply report on it.
Rock & Art is built around the belief that journalism can be a method of producing public knowledge.
Our work connects cultural criticism, research, documentation, and collective knowledge-building, creating an independent and lasting resource for readers, researchers, and communities.
Our editorial practice is guided by intellectual curiosity, evidence, context, editorial independence, and a commitment to complexity and responsible representation.
We are currently building an international volunteer community of writers, researchers, editors, fact-checkers, knowledge curators, and cultural contributors who want to help develop Rock & Art as a long-term cultural knowledge project.