MA Level: Theories and Applications of Political Psychology

What mechanisms link psychological factors such as personality, values or ideologies and political attitudes and behavior? And how can we empirically analyze these theorized connections?  In this course we will try to take a first look at these different theoretical approaches and concepts and discuss application within empirical political science research. Specifically, we will look at the application areas of "prejudice and racism," "political attitudes and behavior," and "political participation." 

The goal of the seminar is also to conduct our own statistical analyses in this topic area. Previous statistical knowledge is an advantage, but can also be acquired during the course. 

The literature in the course is mainly in English. The course language is German.

Course Material on Github

MA - Project Course: Political Perceptions in Times of Crisis: Theories and Applications of Survey Research 

There are few issues that are not accompanied by demoscopic studies. Also, the analysis of relationships between socio-demographic factors, perceptions, and political behavior is a fundamental tool of empirical political science. The goal of this course is to introduce students to these techniques of quantitative survey data analysis. Using the statistical software R, students will learn both simple methods (visualization, descriptive and inferential statistics) and more complex applications (panel data analysis, multilevel models). A particular focus of the course is on the analysis of data collected during the Corona pandemic. But also the preparation of own demoscopic projects and master theses can be elaborated in this course. The course is explicitly designed for students who have not had access to quantitative political science before. Previous statistical knowledge is not expected, and the focus of the course is on teaching applied and generally relevant technical skills. The course consists of synchronous and asynchronous elements, and the seminar format will be discussed with students and adapted and developed as necessary. Materials in the course are partly in English. The course language is German.

BA& MA - Quantitative Parliamentary Analysis in R

How can we empirically capture the complexity of modern political processes? The aim of this course is to teach students basic techniques of quantitative analysis in the statistical software R (using specific application examples). Using parliamentary analysis as an example, we thus consider not only standard techniques (visualization, descriptive and inferential statistics) but also advanced methods (text-as-data). 

The course is explicitly aimed at students who have not had access to quantitative political science before. No prior knowledge of statistics is expected, and the focus of the course is on teaching applied and generally relevant technical skills. The seminar has a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous elements.

Materials in the course are partly in English. The course language is German.