Author: Methods Lab

Workshop: Walking Through and Scrolling Back – Digital Ethnographic Methods for Platform Research Workshop (12-13 May)

Methods Lab

Join us for the workshop Walking Through and Scrolling Back: Digital Ethnographic Methods for Platform Research, organized by the Methods Lab. On May 12–13, 2026, Dr. Daniela Jaramillo-Dent will introduce participants to innovative ethnographic approaches for studying visual and interactive social media platforms.

This hands-on workshop focuses on two complementary methods: the walkthrough method and the scroll back method. Participants will learn how to engage directly with platform interfaces to better understand how design features, technological mechanisms, and cultural references shape user experiences. In addition, the scroll back method will be explored as an interview-based adaptation, inviting participants to revisit their own platform histories and reflect on their interactions and meaning-making processes. Through practical exercises and examples from digital communities, the workshop offers valuable insights into how discourses emerge and evolve on visual platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

The workshop is designed for beginner to intermediate researchers who are interested in expanding their qualitative methodological toolkit.

Seats are limited. To learn more, please visit our program page. We look forward to welcoming you!

Conference Recap: “Data, Archive & Tool Demos” at DGPUK 2026

Methods Lab
Great interest in the 12 high-density presentations

On March 19, 2026, the “Data, Archive & Tool Demos” panel returned at the annual conference of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) in Dortmund. Co-hosted by the Methods Lab lead Christian Strippel, colleagues and the GESIS Methods Hub, the panel brought together researchers to present and exchange reusable research data sets, archives, collections, and research software that promote transparency, collaboration, and methodological innovation in communication and media studies.

A total of 12 projects were presented, including the Platform Governance Archive, OpenQDA, the GESIS Pretest Database, the German Scandal Database, FID Media Publish, and a community data trustee for researching the far right online. The projects were first introduced in short presentations. Afterwards, interested colleagues from the audience could learn more about each project at poster and demo stations. As was the case two years prior, interest in the format was very high. This motivates us to continue offering this format in the future.

Workshop Recap: Reflections on Qualitative Interviews in Practice

Methods Lab

On March 19th, PhD researchers and postdocs from the WI, together with colleagues from partner institutions including DeZIM, FU Berlin, and WBZ, participated in a hands-on workshop on qualitative interviews as a method of data collection. With participants at different stages of their academic careers, the workshop offered a lively and collaborative space to reflect on both the practical challenges and methodological nuances of interview-based research.

The session began with short inputs from Zozan Baran (FU Berlin), Samuel Zewdie Hagos (DeZIM), and Georg von Richthofen (HIIG). Drawing on their own research experiences, they shared insights into what makes qualitative interviews both rewarding and demanding. Meaningful interviews are not only about asking the “right” questions, but also about building trust, remaining reflexive, and approaching the research process with care and attentiveness.

A recurring theme throughout the workshop was positionality: how researchers are perceived, how they position themselves, and how this shapes the interview situation. While shared language or similar backgrounds can help establish rapport, the speakers emphasized that these factors do not erase existing asymmetries. Instead, they highlighted the importance of continuously reflecting on expectations, power dynamics, and vulnerabilities on all sides of the interaction.

This kind of reflection, participants noted, starts well before entering the field. Engaging deeply with theory and existing literature was framed as essential preparation – captured in the idea of approaching interviews with “an open mind, but not an empty head.”

Beyond interview design, the workshop also explored the broader conditions under which interviews take place. Discussions addressed practical considerations such as the choice of setting (online vs. in person) and how each shapes the interaction. Ethical questions also played a central role, particularly when working with sensitive or potentially traumatic topics.

In the moderated discussion that followed, participants connected these themes to their own research projects. Conversations around locality, navigating difficult situations, and managing the emotional demands of working with vulnerable groups led to a rich exchange of perspectives and strategies.

Rather than offering a fixed set of rules, the workshop highlighted the iterative nature of qualitative interviewing: analyze, adapt, and refine. 

Workshop: Qualitative Interviews in Practice (March 19, 2026)

Methods Lab

Join us for the workshop Qualitative Interviews in Practice, organized by the Methods Lab at the Weizenbaum Institute. On March 19, 2026, three experienced researchers will share insights from their hands-on work with qualitative interviews.

The workshop focuses on practical experience, reflection, and methodological exchange. Each invited expert will give a short input based on their own research practice, addressing topics such as planning and preparing interviews, conducting interviews in different contexts, training interviewers, handling challenging situations, and reflecting on lessons learned. The inputs will be followed by an open discussion, where participants can bring their own projects, questions, and experiences.

The workshop is open to researchers at different stages of their careers—from those preparing their first interviews to those with extensive field experience who are interested in exchanging perspectives and best practices.

To learn more, please visit our program page. We hope to see you there!

Workshop: Introduction to Programming and Data Analysis with R (March 25-26, 2026)

Methods Lab

The Methods Lab is happy to welcome back the fourth annual Programming and Data Analysis with R workshop, led by Roland Toth (WI). The two-day workshop will take place at the Weizenbaum Institute on Wednesday, March 25, and Thursday, March 26.

Aimed at participants with beginner to intermediate experience, the workshop offers a practical introduction to programming in R. On the first day, participants will learn the basics of coding, key data wrangling techniques, and how to work with Markdown. The second day builds on this foundation by focusing on data analysis through hands-on work with real datasets, allowing participants to explore a research topic with guided support.

Across both days, the workshop combines clear explanations with practical coding exercises, creating an interactive and supportive learning environment for developing core data analysis skills.

Seats are limited to 20 participants. For more information, check out the program page!

Workshop: Scientific Data Visualization

Methods Lab

Join us in the upcoming workshop on Scientific Data Visualization, beneficial for researchers, students, and professionals interested in improving their skills in quantitative data visualization. On December 4, 2025, Ansgar Hudde, lecturer in Sociology at the University of Cologne, will lead an online, hands-on session introducing strategies for creating clear and effective visualizations in Stata.

The workshop will cover key aspects of graph design, including working with text, colours, axes, reference lines, transparency, fonts, and number formatting. Through interactive exercises with example datasets, participants will gain practical experience applying these principles and build confidence in producing polished, informative figures. By the end of the session, they will be able to create and refine visualizations that strengthen their empirical research and academic publications.

For more details, please visit our program page. We hope to see you there! 

Introducing Overleaf at WI

Methods Lab

Writing is at the core of scientific work: papers, research proposals, reports, and reviews are some of the most important elements of scientists’ everyday tasks. Although the act of writing is a complex subject itself, the tools that enable it are manifold and affect the efficiency of any research project.

Google Docs has established itself as a helpful tool for scientific writing over the past years. It is reminiscent of the well-known Microsoft Word, and is easy-to-use and convenient. As a web service, it does not require installing dedicated software, but works in any modern browser. Its main feature is collaborative writing – documents can be shared either via email address or a link, and edited together in real time, also allowing to post comments and track changes.

At the same time, LaTeX has grown in popularity as an alternative typesetting system and markup language for scientific and technical writing. As opposed to software like Microsoft Word and Google Docs, it distinguishes between the source of a text document which consists of the content as well as formatting instructions, and the rendered document (e.g., in .pdf format) which presents the formatted content accordingly. This separation between source and result enables more precision, since content as well as formatting are both provided in plain text, without applying the formatting right away. There are different LaTeX editors, such as TeXstudio or TeXMaker, that allow to create and edit documents. However, especially in reproducible research, LaTeX is popular for its compatibility with programming frameworks and libraries such as R Markdown, Quarto, Sweave, or PyLaTeX. These allow users to merge text and formatting with information in the programming environment (e.g., analysis results, tables, or figures) using placeholders that are automatically replaced with the current information whenever the document is rendered.

Overleaf is a tool for text editing using LaTeX, but featuring the advantages of Google Docs: It does not require installing separate software, as it is accessible through a web browser, and it enables collaborative writing. While Overleaf can be used on the official website either for free (with limited features) or with a subscription plan (to unlock more), it is also possible to host an instance locally.

To meet the growing demand at WI, avoid subscription costs, and have full control over stored and shared data, we hereby present the brand new Overleaf instance at the Weizenbaum Institute. It not only allows WI researchers, but also their external colleagues to work on text documents together in real time. Overleaf (Community Edition) is hosted by the IT department and administered by the Methods Lab, and it can be accessed at https://overleaf.weizenbaum-institut.de. To use it, an account is required, which can be requested from the Methods Lab. For further instructions, please consult the Overleaf page in the internal Wiki at WI.

Happy writing!

Workshop: Finding Frames with RoBERTa – A Crash Course

Methods Lab

The Methods Lab is pleased to host a hands-on workshop led by Dr. Vihang Jumle (University of Bern) on automating frame analysis using RoBERTa. This practical session teaches social science researchers how to apply pre-trained language models to scale text coding – transforming manual content analysis into a fast, reproducible process. Participants will learn to fine-tune models, preprocess data, apply data augmentation, and evaluate results using precision, recall, and cross-validation – using their own research datasets. Designed for intermediate Python users, the workshop emphasizes real-world application and project-based learning. Ideal for researchers in communication studies, political science, and sociology. Register now and bring your data to automate your next analysis!

To learn more, please visit the program page. We hope to see you there!

Workshop: Introduction to MAXQDA

Methods Lab

Join us for the workshop Introduction to MAXQDA, designed for all researchers, students, and professionals interested in qualitative data analysis. On May 28th, 2025, at the Weizenbaum Institute, certified MAXQDA trainer Dr. phil. Aikokul Maksutova will lead a basic yet comprehensive workshop introducing the software’s core features, aligning with the key stages of digital qualitative research.

This event will offer guidance on MAXQDA’s essential tools for documenting, coding, and analyzing qualitative data. Participants will become familiar with navigating the Code System and a range of additional features, such as functions for exporting data, linking memos, and generating visualizations. Each segment will include hands-on activities using various datasets, enabling participants to confidently apply the skills they’ve learned on their own.

To conclude, special guest and representative of MAXQDA, Ms. Tamara Pataki, will inform participants of the software’s latest innovations and host an open Q&A session.

To learn more, please visit our program page. We hope to see you there!

Career Tutorial: LLMs for all Expertise Levels (March 7, 2025)

Methods Lab

In a joint effort, the Career Development and the Methods Lab are excited to announce the hybrid “Career Tutorial on LLMs for all Expertise Levels”. In this tutorial, beginning with fundamental concepts of LLMs and in-context learning, we’ll address the “Needle in the Haystack Problem” and compare ultra-long context models with RAG approaches. Through practical demonstrations, participants will gain hands-on experience with RAG’s core functionalities and understand its objectives. The session delves into scaling solutions using vector databases and advanced implementations, including chunking strategies, hybrid RAG, and graph-based RAG architectures. We conclude with an overview of emerging trends, examining agentic RAG and the integration of reasoning models in deep research applications. This comprehensive exploration equips attendees with both theoretical knowledge and practical insights into the latest developments in AI language models.


For more information, visit our program page. We are looking forward to your participation!