• Wuttke Alexander

• Wuttke Alexander

Methoden Winterschool

Introduction to Social Science Research Methods with R

Alexander Wuttke

This course offers a gentle and hands-on introduction to the basics of quantitative social science research. Together, we will learn how social scientists ask questions, collect data, and use simple experiments to answer them. Students will discover what a regression table is, why it matters, and how to read it without fear.

Through guided exercises in R, you will explore data step by step, create your own plots, and gradually build the skills to analyze surveys and experiments yourself. The focus is on curiosity and practice: rather than memorizing formulas, we will emphasize intuition, concrete examples, and trying things out in code.

By the end of the course, you should feel confident enough to design and analyze a simple survey experiment, understand the logic of causal claims, and write short empirical research papers. Above all, the course aims to make data analysis approachable—and maybe even exciting—for students who never thought they would enjoy it.

This course takes place between semesters. To enroll, send an email to sekretariat-politikwissenschaft@unifr.ch

It is important to us to give all students the opportunity to attend this course. Students who have exams during this week can also attend the Winter School, with exams being given priority.

Hinweis | Moodle UniFR

• Moodle