Teaching

Theses at the Chair of Political Science specialising in Methods

If you are considering writing your Bachelor's or Master's thesis at the Chair of Political Science specialising in Methods, please note the following:
We supervise theses with an empirical analysis part (qualitative, quantitative or mixed-method) as well as theses that discuss a research question theoretically and analyse the available literature. In principle, one of the following thesis types can be chosen (in consultation with the supervisor):

• Thesis with own data acquisition
• Thesis without own data acquisition (data set is already available)
• Theoretical thesis: a specific question or problem is addressed on the basis of relevant specialist literature. A corresponding thesis includes the review, presentation and interpretation of academic work on the subject area (scientific analysis of the literature. Literature report, i.e., for example, the analysis of a political science controversy).

However, we recommend an empirical analysis of your own for final theses.
Your topic should be located in the subject areas represented by the professorship:

• Psephology
• Participation research
• Political culture research
• Political communication research
• Policy research
• Metropolitan/Regional Governance
• Empirical democracy research
• Methods of empirical social research

Please contact the supervisor in good time - i.e. 2-3 months before you start your thesis - by e-mail (Prof Walter-Rogg/Dr Grasl supervise BA theses). It is advisable to choose someone you already know from a course. When making initial contact, you should enclose a research outline (approx. 2-3 pages) with the following information:

• What is the research question? In which research context can this topic be categorised? (psephology, participation research, democracy research, policy research, gender research, totalitarianism research, etc.)
• Why was the topic chosen? What is its relevance to political science or society?
• Has much research already been done on the topic? (FRG, Europe, international)
• Present the first publications/studies available on the topic.
• Would you like to address the research question theoretically or empirically?

Supplementary for empirical work:

• Which hypotheses are relevant for you? (Small selection)
• How would you like to test the research question or hypotheses? (Primary or secondary analysis, information on possible data sets).
• What does a possible research design look like? → Please try a graphical representation (dependent, independent plus possibly intervening variables).

The registration procedure for your thesis is as follows:

1. Inform the supervisor about your project by submitting the research outline by e-mail.
2. Ask another person whether they are willing to take on the second revision. This person must hold a professorship or be a private lecturer.
3. Register with the Examinations Office for your BA or MA thesis
4. The Examinations Office asks the first reviewer to determine the topic and start date and informs the second reviewer
5. The Examinations Office will inform you in writing of the topic, the start date and the completion time. In the case of empirical theses, you can apply for an extension of up to the same amount of time if the supervisor agrees.
6. Please submit the thesis in printed form including a declaration of independence and a digital medium (CD or USB stick) with the thesis as a PDF and, in the case of empirical work, the relevant data (not for big data analyses!) or syntax commands as well as a printed second copy for the second supervisor.

In the area of continuing education, the Department of Methods would like to enable interested students to participate in the following summer schools and help (e.g. in the form of reviews and letters of recommendation) to obtain participation opportunities and financial aid:

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1 Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences - GESIS Training

https://www.gesis.org/gesis-training (external link, opens in a new window)

The GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences is the largest European infrastructure organisation for the social sciences and offers research-based services. The target group are (young) scientists of all disciplines who work with social science methods. The following activities are offered:

• Workshops: one- to three-day courses on all phases of the research data cycle. The workshops are application-orientated and interdisciplinary and offer the opportunity to gain further training in a wide range of quantitative and qualitative social science research methods.
• Method seminars: Teaching basic knowledge and skills in dealing with quantitative research data. The core module teaches the mathematics and practical analysis of univariate and bivariate statistics. The advanced modules are dedicated to the theory and application of basic methods of multivariate data analysis.
• Spring Seminars: English-language spring seminar consisting of three consecutive one-week courses for advanced students on methods of quantitative data analysis for social scientists.
• Summer School in Survey Methodology - GESIS has been organising a summer school on research methodology, research design and data acquisition every August since 2012.

2 The Mannheim Summer School "Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM)"

https://www.sowi.uni-mannheim.de/eitm/ (external link, opens in a new window)

The Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM) Summer Institute is a training programme developed in the United States for graduate students and early career researchers. Since 2009, the EITM Europe Summer Institute has been offering a corresponding programme based in Europe under the direction of Thomas König (University of Mannheim). In terms of content, the 14-day EITM course programme teaches how theoretical models for explaining political decisions and strategic behaviour can be understood empirically. For example, questions such as: How do reforms and political decisions come about in the European Union under the influence of 27 member states, the Commission, the European Parliament and many parties, associations, companies and NGOs? Which interests prevail - and why? The EITM programme aims to bridge the gap between theory and empiricism, teach new methods and support the professional development of young scientists in an international research landscape. The EITM courses are mainly taught by US members of the teaching staff.

3 Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis

https://essexsummerschool.com/ (external link, opens in a new window)

The Essex Summer School takes place over a six-week period in July and August each year. In a highly professional environment at the University of Essex, one- to two-week courses are offered in introductory mathematics, data management techniques, research design and a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methods. The course leaders are internationally renowned experts in their respective fields and the course language is English. The large computer laboratories on the English university campus are equipped with the latest hardware and software. Each course lasts 3.5 hours a day, and students are also required to read relevant specialised literature and complete exercises.