2024 Annual Conference
Workshops in New Orleans, Louisiana
January 2024
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In collaboration with the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA) we are offering several professional development workshops at the SPSA's 2024 Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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​Choose from the following three areas:
​Thank you all for an amazing conference in January 2024!
If you were not able to join us in New Orleans, make sure to sign up for our online sessions at the June follow up conference and get ready to see us again in person in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2025.
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Update your KiND profile and contact information so that we can stay in touch:
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Research Methods
Inductive and Deductive Approaches to Qualitative Research and Analysis
with Prof. Jo Crotty and
Dr. Jacob Obodai
January 11th, 2024
11:00 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. (GMT-6)
In this workshop, Professor Crotty and Dr. Obodai will walk participants through inductive and deductive approach to semi-structured interview practice and analysis. They will outline the difference between deductive and inductive approaches and walk participants step-by-step through the data collection and analysis processes. Participants will have the opportunity to create their own data and analyse this within the workshop time; and share their experiences of doing so. We will discuss the limitations and benefits of both inductive and deductive approaches and of mixed methods approaches.
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Audience & Prerequisites: This workshop is designed as an accessible introduction. Preliminary knowledge of qualitative techniques are desired but not essential. Through this workshop, participants will gain an appreciation of the qualitative interview approach to research in the social sciences and receive useful insights into its advantages and disadvantages of inductive and deductive analysis, as well as the various paths available to acquire the necessary tools and the utility of such expertise.
Introduction to Social Science Experiments
with Dr. Donald Green
January 11th, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. (GMT-6)
In this workshop, Professor Green will guide participants through the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been — and could be — used to investigate political, social, and economic phenomena. He will discuss various types of social science experiments, including lab experiments, survey experiments, field experiments and naturally occurring experiments, while attending to the ethical concerns that must be taken into account when conducting research with human subjects. The goal in this session will be to give participants the important foundational tools to be able to conduct their own experiments.
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Audience & Prerequisites: This workshop serves as a broad introduction to social science experiments. Participants are expected to come to the session with some experience designing a research study and with a question or hypothesis that they wish to investigate using experimental design.
Effectiveness and Efficiency in
Public Organizations:
Tools for measurement and implementation
with Dr. Piotr Modzelewski and
Dr. Tomasz Gajderowicz
January 12th, 2024
9:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. (GMT-6)
The notions of effectiveness and efficiency are often misunderstood, especially in literature outside of economics. Dr. Modzelewski will walk participants through different types of efficiency definitions, starting with the distinction between pareto efficiency and productive efficiency. Next, the concept of the cost effectiveness will be presented, and its decomposition to the output-mix efficiency, cost-efficiency, input allocative efficiency, scale efficiency, and pure technical efficiency.
These concepts will be explained with empirical examples and practical ways to measure each type of efficiency, including the usage of relevant software. This will be followed by a presentation of other definitions and applications of efficiency that can be particularly useful in designing public policies, such as distributive efficiency, dynamic efficiency and allocative efficiency. Next, Dr. Gajderowicz will present ways to measure and evaluate effectiveness, especially in the context of the public sector and the evaluation of public policies and government regulations. This part of the workshop will offer guide over the experimental (RCT) and quasi-experimental (RDD, DD, PSM, SC) counterfactual methodologies, using empirical examples.
Audience & Prerequisites:This workshop serves as a broad introduction to the analysis of efficiency and effectiveness and does not require any specialized introductory knowledge. The material will be presented in an accessible way to develop participants' intuition for understanding the basic concepts of efficiency and its measurement. The examples will be a good starting point to enhance participants' knowledge and allow a more precise usage of the terms efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity in their future scientific work.
Arts-based Approaches to Research with Marginalised Communities
with Dr. Victoria Foster
January 12th, 2024
9:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. (GMT-6)
In this workshop, Dr. Foster will introduce participants to arts-based research with marginalised communities. She will discuss epistemological and methodological issues that underpin novel research methods such as poetry, visual art and photovoice. Such methods can raise a range of ethical concerns which will be considered. Plentiful examples will be given of how these methods can engage communities in producing knowledge about themselves. The workshop will include creative exercises for participants to take part in to give them a flavour of the potential of this way of working.
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Note: for the purposes of the KiND/SPSA Professional Development Certificate, this workshop is cross-listed under the Professionalization category of workshops as well.
A Gentle Introduction to Bayesian Inference
in the Social Sciences
with Dr. Jeff Gill
January 11th, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. (GMT-6)
(revised date and time)
This workshop introduces Bayesian inference. The goal is to provide an introduction to Bayesian statistics for social science students and practitioners that starts from the absolute beginning and walks participants steadily through the material. No previous knowledge is required other than that in a basic, typically undergraduate, statistics course. At the end of the workshop participants will understand the core tenets of Bayesian theory and practice in a way that enables them to specify, implement, and understand models using practical social science data. Each module will cover theoretical principles and real-world applications that provide motivation and intuition. Because Bayesian methods are intricately tied to software solutions code in both R and Python will be provided throughout.
Introduction to NVivo
with Dr. Jacob Obodai and
Prof. Jo Crotty
January 12th, 2024
12:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. (GMT-6)
This practical NVivo workshop will be an extension of the previous session on inductive and deductive approaches to qualitative research and analysis. In this workshop, Professor Jo Crotty and Dr. Jacob Obodai will introduce participants to the NVivo application, equipping them with skills needed to effectively work with qualitative data. Participants will have the opportunity to explore NVivo, import and organise data, conduct coding and perform qualitative data analysis.
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Audience & Prerequisites: This workshop is designed for individuals seeking a hands-on introduction to NVivo for data analysis. Participation in the inductive and deductive approaches to qualitative research and analysis workshop delivered by Professor Crotty and Dr. Obodai is highly recommended but not mandatory. New and those familiar with qualitative research methodologies are welcome.
Leadership
Strategies for Building Networks Between Academics, Communities, and Governments
with Dr. Thomas Bryer and
Dr. Sofia Prysmakova
January 11th, 2024
11:00 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. (GMT-6)
Research funders are increasingly interested in the broader impact of research, beyond standard scholarly outputs and dissemination of research findings. This broader impact includes achieving impactful policy outcomes for communities, an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the uptake of research by practitioners to enhance quality of life and democratic systems. The capacity to achieve broad impact requires strategic partnerships and alliances between universities, communities, governments, and other organizational stakeholders.
Using a real call for proposals from a grant funder as a practice tool, this workshop will interactively guide participants in the design and enactment of partnerships that provide mutual benefit across universities and communities. Participants will be given an opportunity to craft a plan to build or strengthen relationships with communities within their geographical area and to receive feedback from workshop leaders.
Successfully Managing Conflict
with Dr. Kirk Randazzo
January 12th, 2024
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (GMT-6)
Many of us prefer to avoid conflict whenever possible, often because we do not know how to handle confrontational situations or difficult people. This presentation explores some fundamental conflict resolution skills and strategies. Initially, we focus on the typical responses individuals adopt when conflict erupts. Then we turn to skills and approaches that one can adopt to resolve specific conflicts. Finally, we discuss specific long-term strategies that will help minimize the potentially negative consequences of conflict.
Professionalization
Writing Op-Eds and beyond...
with Dr. Shannon Sampert
- Workshop cancelled -
stay tuned to find out when this workshop will be offered again
​Getting your research ideas out into the policy realm of government, non-government and business leaders requires more than just publishing in academic journals. This session provides you with hands-on experience to extend your academic reach so your ideas have an effect outside the ivory towers. This session is designed to provide you with hands-on experience to help you understand when and how to pitch your ideas to the media. The sessions will begin with an overview of the types of ways academics can engage in “knowledge mobilization” – from writing opinion pieces for publication in mainstream media, to shining in the media interview, to policy briefing notes that gets complicated ideas into the hands of policy experts.
Research Ethics in a New Era
with Dr. Lea Sgier
January 12th, 2024
12:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. (GMT-6)
This workshop is an introduction to key issues in social science research ethics, with a double goal:
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To equip participants with a basic understanding of what is and why it matters;
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To help participants to better understand the expectations of research ethics committees when laying out the research ethics sections of a research proposal (whether a funding proposal, a PhD proposal, or other).
This workshop will first introduce the various core principles of research ethics (such as informed consent, confidentiality, harm limitation, and research integrity) and illustrate these using real-life examples of both qualitative and quantitative research. These illustrative examples will help demonstrate the types of dilemmas that can arise when conducting such research (including the necessity to ensure consent in demonstrable ways vs the necessity to remain culturally sensitive) and provide the opportunity to discuss ways to solve such issues.
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Secondly, in this workshop we will discuss the nature and challenges posed by the research ethics procedures put in place by universities or funding bodies, as well as how to respond efficiently and clearly to the expectations of ethics boards.
Refining your Manuscript
with Dr. Diana Gustafson
January 13th, 2024
9:30 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. (GMT-6)
You’ve conducted the research. You’ve analyzed the data. Now comes the hard work of writing a manuscript that focuses on a single, significant message that will appeal to your readership, an editor, and your peer reviewers.
The goal of this interactive workshop is help you turn a messy draft into a more refined manuscript. We’ll use a well-cited political science article as an example of how to tell a scholarly story. Come prepared to apply several practical strategies to a section of your manuscript before exchanging feedback with another participant. To ensure you leave this workshop feeling more confident about your revision skills, send me your burning questions and we’ll devote time to addressing your specific concerns for improving your manuscript.
As a post-workshop bonus, participants will be offered high-level comments (1-2 pages) on a manuscript section of their choosing.
