Online Course for Ph.D. Students: Conducting Empirical Research Projects

This course is primarily addressed to Ph.D. students who are at the beginning of their doctoral studies. The course aims to provide participants with strategies and methods that help them to convert an abstract research topic or an overarching research goal into a concrete research design. In addition to an introduction to the basic steps in the development of adequate research designs (from case selection to data collection and analysis), the course gives an overview of (primarily qualitative) methods and how they can be combined to fruitfully analyse existing data, make ‘smart’ comparisons, and draw valid and generalisable inferences. The course covers the following topics:

• Introduction to Research Designs
• Case Selection
• Data Collection and Data Analysis
• Comparative Research Design
• Process Tracing
• Multimethod Research

Thursday, 02.12.2021 – 08.30-12.30 and 13.30-17.30

• Introduction to Research Designs
• Case Selection
• Data Collection and Data Analysis
• Comparative Research Design

Friday, 03.12.2021 – 08.30-12.30 and 13.30-17.30

• Process Tracing
• Multimethod Research
• Presentations of participants and feedback

Friday, 10.12.2021 – 08.30-12.30 (provisional day, depending on the number of participants)

Dr. Markus Hinterleitner, LMU Munich

Dr. Lyn Pleger, research associate at the institute of public management

Dr. Johanna Cludius, research associate at the Center for Energy and the Environment

Participants need to submit a one-page summary of their research design. The aim is to summarise their most urgent research design issue relating to their Ph.D. The summary should correspond to the presentation and constitutes a written outline of the research design presented in class.

The application deadline has passed.

Deadline for research summary submission: 25.11.21
You can hand in your research summary after your registration. Please send it to Chantal Menzi (menh@zhaw.ch).