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LOOK BACK – 9th GESIS Summer School in Survey Methodology


Categories: GESIS Training

A successful tradition has been continued for the ninth time but for the first time Europe’s leading summer school in survey methodology took place online via Zoom from 29 July to 21 August 2020.

Over 220 participants from the international academic community took part in a series of excellent virtual courses on methods and techniques of survey methodology.

11 courses were scheduled, among them three short courses and eight one-week-courses. The program combined introductory and advanced courses, aiming to suit the preferences and needs of a broader academic audience. Keeping pace with recent trends in survey methodology, new and redesigned courses included “Research Designs and Causal Inference” and “Applied Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”.

Participants evaluated the virtual courses as positively as face-to-face courses in previous years: participants felt that they had learned a lot in the courses, with an average of 4.2 on a scale from 1 (do not agree at all) to 5 (fully agree). 91% of the participants said they would recommend the GESIS Summer School.

As in past years, the Summer School attracted an international scientific audience. 42% came from abroad, making the international character visible again in 2020. Thanks to funding from the European Survey Research Association (ESRA), five early career researchers could take part free of charge in courses and gather relevant expertise. Scholarship holders from China, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and South Africa were able to finance their participation in the GESIS Summer School with scholarships. Thanks to our cooperation with the Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim, participants of the Summer School 2020 were again able to acquire ECTS credits. On request, ECTS credits were awarded to 33 participants of the Summer School.

Next year, when we celebrate its 10th anniversary, the GESIS Summer School will again take place online. We are looking forward to the next virtual edition with more lead time and more courses in the program again.

Save the date for the 2nd online edition of the GESIS Summer School in Survey Methodology – 28 July to 20 August 2021.