DEZIM SUMMER SCHOOL 2026

The German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) is pleased to once again offer a Methods Summer School this year. From August 11 to 13, one-day workshops on quantitative methods in empirical social research will be held. All courses are free of charge, and you may register for as many courses as you like. The Summer School will take place exclusively in person at the DeZIM Institute in Berlin Mitte.

Prerequisites 

Please bring your own laptop and install any necessary software before the course begins. Please note that the course “Multivariate Analysis Methods with R” requires a basic understanding of quantitative data and statistics and does not include an introduction to the software program.

Course Descriptions

Introduction to Questionnaire and Item Design – August 11, 2026

The course offers a practical introduction to the development of questionnaires for standardized surveys and is aimed particularly at participants with no prior knowledge. In addition to fundamental theoretical concepts of survey research and key sources of error, the focus is primarily on designing understandable, high-quality questions and considering the respondent’s perspective. Participants will learn key principles of good questionnaire design, work with real-world examples, and reflect on their own experiences. The course is supplemented by guidance on pretests, open-access resources, and current developments such as the use of AI in questionnaire design. The aim of the course is to provide a solid foundation for the independent design and review of questionnaires and items. 

• Prerequisites: none 

Dr. Verena Ortmanns holds a Ph.D. in sociology and leads the Statistics Team at the German Institute for Adult Education – Leibniz Center for Lifelong Learning in Bonn. Her work focuses on adult education research, statistics, and the development and harmonization of educational and survey data. Previously, she worked for many years at GESIS, where she contributed to national and international research projects on survey methods, educational measurement, and research data infrastructures. She completed her Ph.D. in sociology in 2020 at the University of Mannheim, focusing on the measurement of education in international and migration-related surveys. In addition to her research, she has experience in teaching and consulting. 

Introduction to Statistics with R – August 12 

The course provides a practical introduction to empirical social research and statistical data analysis using R. Participants will learn fundamental concepts such as hypotheses, variables, and measurement scales and apply them directly to datasets. In addition to data preparation using the Tidyverse, the course focuses on descriptive and inferential statistical methods, including frequency tables, measures of central tendency and dispersion, graphical representations, and confidence intervals. The course combines theoretical input with practical exercises and group discussion of analysis results. The goal is to provide participants with an accessible introduction to the statistical analysis of social science data using R.

• Prerequisite: personal laptop with R and R-Studio software

   

Multivariate Analysis Methods with R – August 13  

The course offers an application-oriented introduction to inferential statistical methods and the analysis of relationships using R. Using datasets, participants will learn key methods of hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, and regression models. Topics covered include significance tests, cross-tabulations, linear and multiple regressions, as well as logistic models and their interpretation. The theoretical content is directly applied using practical examples from sociology, politics, and economics and discussed collectively. The aim of the course is to enable participants to independently analyze, interpret, and critically evaluate statistical relationships. 

• Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of statistics and the R software; personal laptop with R and R-Studio installed

William Tarazona is a research assistant at the European University of Flensburg in the Department of Social Structure Analysis, Empirical Methods, and Statistics (formerly Central Methodology), where he teaches various courses in statistics. His courses range from an introduction to statistics to statistics using Excel and SPSS, as well as simulations. In 2011, he received a university-wide teaching award for the best course at the Europa-Universität Flensburg.   

Registration

The DeZIM Summer School is free of charge. The number of participants per course is limited. Register by June 30, 2026, by completing the following survey: https://dezim.limequery.com/916176?lang=de. If the link does not work, please try opening it in a different browser. If you have questions about registration, you can reach us at methodenworkshop(at)dezim-institut.de. Due to limited capacity and existing university offerings, student inquiries cannot be prioritized. Interested students therefore only have the opportunity to secure any available spots. Only applications with complete information will be considered. In the event of oversubscription, spots will be allocated by lottery. You are expected to receive notification of a successful application between July 1 and July 10, 2026.