Assistant Professorship Political Science Research Methods
Research methods are the tools of political science for answering empirical questions in all subfields of the discipline. In teaching, the assistant professorship introduces students to quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. In research, the focus is on comparative research on political attitudes and behavior. Current research topics include political participation, youth and politics, direct democracy, and election forecasting. Methodologically, the application of experimental and quasi-experimental approaches in individual and aggregate data analysis plays a prominent role. Furthermore, a further methodological focus lies on primary data collection through population surveys.
News from Science, Media & the Public
Latest from the media: Jun.-Prof. Arndt Leininger was a guest on MDR and NDR and part of a CORRECTIV investigation. In the programme MDR aktuell live on the topic ‘No right to vote at 16 - Doesn't politics care about you?’ (minutes 13:38 to 23:38), he provided insights into the latest scientific findings on voting age and political maturity. In the NDR programme Have your say! Germany discusses on the topic 'Emotion or reason - how do you make your voting decision?' he gave input on political decision-making. In addition, Jun.-Prof. Leininger - together with other experts - explained in a background research by CORRECTIV why election surveys by the ‘Democracy Institute’ are not legitimate.
New Event: Research methods colloquium and guest lecture by Timon Scheuer about 'Cross-Pressures and cognitive dissonance in the 2009-2021 federal elections'. In addition, current research contributions by Felix Grünewald, Nelly Buntfuß and Thomas Tichelbaecker. On 26 February 2025 from 14:00 to 16:00 in Thüringer Weg 9, Room C34.213 (old: 2/TW9/213).
New Research Associate: Thomas Tichelbaecker joined the project Legacies of democratic transition on 1 January 2025. A warm welcome!
New publication: "Stability and Determinants of Social Acceptance of Innovative Sustainable Technologies. Evidence from a Two-Wave Panel Study" (Nelly Buntfuß, together with Manuel Holz and Prof. Dr. Jochen Mayerl, both Chemnitz University of Technology) has been published in Ask: Research and Methods (open access).
New publication: "Can individual MPs damage their party's brand? Quasi-experimental evidence from a public procurement corruption scandal" (co-authored with Lukas Rudolph, University Konstanz) has been published in The Journal of Politics.
