Applications open for the Mixed Methods Summer School 2024 in Political Science
The eighth version of the Summer School in Mixed Methods (EVMM) will be held from January 8 to 13, 2024, and will address multiple methodological research tools for the development of Political Science and Social Sciences, with great national and international speakers.
The new version of the Summer School in Mixed Methods will be coordinated by Carla Alberti, researcher at the Millennium Institute Foundational Research on Data, and Catherine Reyes-Housholder, who emphasize that the purpose of this event is to bring together UNDERGRADUATE graduates, graduate students and academics from different Latin American countries with a disciplinary background in the social sciences and humanities.
Both professors explained that one of the objectives of the EVMM is to deepen and be at the forefront of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, which are essential to carry out academic work with scientific rigor to respond to current political phenomena; and try not to use traditional methods, but to explore new technologies.
"This space allows us to promote the construction of academic networks and improve, through feedback from teachers and peers, the research projects of each participant," said the EVMM 2024 coordinators.
National and international guests
This new version will feature talks by national and international guests on various research methods, including experiments, archival material, big data, process tracing, focus groups and field work. It will be divided into three types of sessions: master classes, applied workshops and research design seminars.
There will be experts such as Erik Voeten (Georgetown University) who will delve into a key aspect of scientific research, such as concepts. In his module you will learn more about the measurement of political concepts, focusing on theory and methods with applications to ideology and democracy. Lenka Bustikova (University of Florida) will guide you through experimental survey research. The value of her work lies in the application of this empirical tool in contested social settings. Joining them, Jason Seawright (Northwestern University), a renowned scholar in mixed methods research designs, will provide modules on innovations in multiple methods exploration. Jennifer Cyr (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella) will delve into the proper procedures for implementing qualitative tools such as focus groups and interviews, topics covered in her forthcoming book "Doing Good Qualitative Research". Verónica Pérez-Betancur (Universidad de la República), who has a long trajectory and specialization in process-tracing, will give classes where participants will learn about the implementation of this methodological tool and the fundamentals of case analysis.
The beginnings of the school date back to 2013, with its first version organized by the Millennium Nucleus for the Study of Statehood and Democracy in Latin America and the ICP, and has had the participation of experts such as David Collier (University of California, Berkeley), Virginia Oliveros (Tulane University), James Mahoney (Northwestern University), Agustina Giraudy (American University). The EVMM stands out for its great academic, scientific and professional value; and for the high level of active participation of the attendees in all the modules, which provides a plurality of knowledge that allows developing quality methodological skills and keeping them at the forefront of academic and methodological debates.
Carla Alberti and Catherine Reyes-Housholder emphasize that "The Summer School advocates the dissemination of knowledge with scientific rigor. Therefore, having national and international experts allows us to fulfill this objective and actively contribute to the empirical development of Political Science in Chile and Latin America. A critical aspect of the program is the presentation of research projects by the participants. In small groups, participants will discuss their projects, receiving ideas and suggestions from the faculty and other participants".
The 2024 version of the EVMM is sponsored by the Institute of Political Science, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Millennium Institute Foundational Research on Data (IMFD) and the Millennium Institute for Research on Violence and Democracy - Viodemos.
The School will be held from January 8 to January 13, 2024. Classes will be held from Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:45 pm, plus Saturday from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm.