​Welcome Addresses and Course Introductions
After a few short ‘welcome’ addresses, the welcome plenary session introduces each Winter School (WSMT) main course Instructor for a very short presentation (with 1 slide) about his/her course. If this stirs your interest or raises questions, you may informally discuss these with the Instructors during the welcome reception from 19:30. Following this, the Academic Convenors present a short summary of the course programme for the 11th ECPR Summer School in Methods and Techniques (SSMT) in Budapest, including new and original courses and information about the ‘training tracks’ scheme across the WSMT and SSMT and the Short Methods Courses at the Graduate Student Conference, University of Tartu 10-13 July.

Course Taster Session 1A: Room F21/01.35 first floor, main building.
"Game Theory" by Florence So (University of Aarhus)
Abstract: The use of formal theoretical models is becoming more prevalent in mainstream political science. Thus, being able to dissect papers with formal models can help us critique and build on existing works, as well as becoming more logical in our theory-building. Thus, the goal of this course is to familiarize scholars with game theory, but also help participants better understand papers with game models, and build models that are applicable to their research areas. The only math you need is basic algebra. If you can solve 3x + 7 = 11, you're equipped!

Course Taster Session 1B: Room F21/01.37, first floor, main building.
"Historical Methods for Social Scientists" by Robert Adcock (American University)
Abstract: This course offers an interdisciplinary and methodologically pluralist introduction to historical methods. It highlights recurrent methodological cleavages between scholars who all understand themselves to do historical work, and uses these to introduce and elucidate the diverse, at times directly competing, historical research practices associated with “new institutional economics,” “historical sociology,” “comparative historical analysis,” “process-tracing,” and “interpretivist” social science.

Course Taster Session 2A: Room F21/01.37, first floor, main building.
"Automated Web Data Collection with R" by Peter Meissner (University of Konstanz)
Abstract: Text and web data, data from social media, web pages and web services are abundant, under-researched, promising and right at your doorstep. Unfortunately, web data is also under-researched, semi-structured at best and usually very, very dirty. Have a fast paced glance at the world of R-driven web scraping and text mining.

Course Taster Session 2B: Room F21/01.35, first floor, main building.
"Advanced Multi-Method Research" by Ingo Rohlfing (University of Bremen)
Abstract: Multi-method research (MMR) is said to bring together the best of qualitative and quantitative methods. Some even call it a platinum standard for causal inference. During the course taster, I give you a flavor of the idea behind MMR and show some examples from the social sciences. You can then decide whether MMR looks like platinum, gold, diamonds, or something else to you.

Brown Bag Lunch Sessions
These are free to attend lunch-time sessions, consisting of presentations by experts in ‘hot’ methodological topics, followed by an open debate. You can also pre-order a lunch bag for €4.50 to be delivered to the session. Lunches must be ordered and paid for at the Winter School office before 10:30 Monday 29 February.

NB: Places are first come first served on a registration basis. Session 1 maximum 122 places and session 2 maximum 206 places.  To pre-book your space on one of the sessions please email Becky Plant.  If you also wish to pre-book lunch you will need to complete a booking form (available in the Winter School office) and hand it in with your payment to the WSMT office before 10:30 Monday 29 February.

Brown Bag Lunch Session 1: "Complexity in case-oriented research - how to conceptualise it, how to empirically analyse it?"
Room F21/01.35, first floor, main building (max 122)
One of the assets of case-oriented research is that it enables one – allegedly – to tap “complexity”. However complexity is conceptualized in many different ways. It therefore raises many conceptual challenges. In addition, it is also challenging to empirically apprehend/model/measure ‘complexity’, and again there are many different empirical approaches to complexity. The discussion in this session will revolve around some concrete ‘complexity-oriented’ strategies used by different researchers in their own empirical research – and around the strengths and limitations of these strategies.
Speakers: Lasse Gerrits (University of Bamberg), Marie Østergaard Møller (University of Aarhus), Derek Beach (University of Aarhus)
Moderator: Carsten Schneider (CEU Budapest)

Brown Bag Lunch Session 2: “Social Network Analysis (SNA): ever-expanding frontiers?”
Room F21/01.37, first floor, main building (max 206)
The field of SNA is booming. Multiple innovations are being developed and applied: exploitation of large metadata, inferential SNA, predictive exploitations of SNA, new modes of visualisation, analysis of more complex networks, conceptual development, new software solutions, etc. The discussion in this session will focus on (a) some specific ongoing innovations in the field: how powerful are these innovations, and how useful are they for social scientists? and (b) some remaining challenges and caveats of SNA for applied social scientific research.
Speakers: Kai Fischbach (University of Bamberg), Philip Leifeld (Eawag & University of Bern), Simon Fink (University of Bamberg)
Moderator: Levi Littvay (CEU Budapest)

'Convince us' Sessions

These are two parallel interactive workshops. In each workshop three selected junior researchers (researchers who do not yet hold a PhD.) present, a maximum of 10-minutes each, some specific aspects of their ongoing research, with a key emphasis on methodological issues. It is then followed by short comments from a tandem of more experienced researchers. The remaining time is allocated to an open discussion with all the participants in the workshop (remarks and suggestions by all participants are welcome).

The deadline for proposals is for 22 February. Benoît Rihoux (University of Louvain - UCL) is responsible for the selection of proposals from junior researchers and the overall organisation of the sessions.

Session One: F21/01.35, first floor, main building
Commentators: Dvora Yanow (Wageningen University) and Stefan Palan (University of Graz)
Moderator: Thomas Saalfeld (University of Bamberg)

Session Two: F21/01.37, first floor, main building
Commentators: Florian Weiler (University of Bamberg) and Virginie Van Ingelgom (University of Louvain-UCL)
Moderator: Michael Gebel (University of Bamberg)

All participants are welcome to join the audience. No pre-registration is required. You may bring a cold lunch e.g. sandwich.

The ‘Convince us’ sessions are sponsored by the ECPR Standing Group on Political Methodology.