Research Skills
Workshop: Sequence Analysis in the Social Sciences (24.06.2025, 09:00h-17:00h & 24.06.2025 12:00-17:00h)
Short Outline
This workshop introduces sequence analysis (SA) for social science research. Originally devel-oped in biology and computer science, SA has gained traction in the social sciences for analyzing longitudinal data. Most applications study life course processes such as labor market careers, transitions to adulthood, or family formation. The workshop covers core SA techniques in depth and briefly introduces recent methodological advances. Topics include distance measures, clus-ter analysis, sequence visualization, and techniques for analyzing multidimensional sequences. All methods are demonstrated with hands-on examples using R.
Learning objective
By the end of the course participants should be able to apply a robust sequence analysis on their own, i.e. they should:
? know how to describe and visualize sequences with the TraMineR & ggseqplot pack-ages in R
? know how to use the outcomes from sequence analysis (distance matrices, measures of turbulence and complexity) in further analyses (e.g., cluster and regression analysis)
Requirements for participation
? basic knowledge in handling (longitudinal) data
? basic knowledge of quantitative methods (e.g., regression analysis)
? basic knowledge of R not necessary but helpful (e.g., inspecting, visualizing, transforming your data, extracting values from a table, sub-setting tables, calculating summary statistics, and deriving new variables). For an introduction to the basics, you might consider consult-ing Posit Recipes, the website of the book R for Data Science, or any other of the abundant
free introductory material for R & RStudio on the web
You will find the course useful if:
? you work with longitudinal categorical data
? you are interested in describing temporal patterns of social phenomena
Date & Time:
Monday, June 23, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and
Tuesday, June 24 2025, 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (s.t.)
Place: LIfBi, Wilhelmsplatz 3, 96047 Bamberg, Room 01.13
Registration:
To register, please send an email to weiterbildung(at)lifbi.de by June 09, 2025. Registration is mandatory. The number of participants is limited to 25.
About the Trainer
Dr. Marcel Raab
Marcel Raab is Senior Researcher at the State Institute for Family Research at the University of Bamberg, Editor and Deputy Managing Director of the Journal of Family Research, and Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Marriage and Family. Previously, he worked as a research assistant at the National Educational Panel Study and the Professorship of Demography at the University of Bamberg, as a research fellow at the WZB Berlin, and As-sistant Professor for Sociology at the University of Mannheim. He is a member of the Advi-sory Board of the Sequence Analysis Association, author of the QASS book “Sequence Anal-ysis” co-authored with Emanuela Struffolino, and developer of the R package “ggseqplot” for sequence data visualization.
Prof. Dr. Emanuela Struffolino
Emanuela Struffolino is Associate Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Mi-lan. After receiving her PhD from the University of Milano-Bicocca, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne and at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. She was then Guest Professor at the Freie Universit?t Berlin and at the Humboldt-Universit?t zu Ber-lin. Since 2024 she is President of the SAA-Sequence Analysis Association. Her research in-terests include social inequality, life-course sociology, family demography, and methods for longitudinal data analysis. She has published in - among others - Sociological Methodology, Demography, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, and Advances in Life Course Research.
Workshop: "Wie schreibe ich ein überzeugendes Exposé?" (27.06.2025, 9:00 bis 13:30 Uhr - ausgebucht)
Workshop: "Wie schreibe ich ein überzeugendes Exposé?" (27.06.2025, 9:00 bis 13:30 Uhr)
Dieser Kurs wird in Zusammenarbeit mit dem LIfBi angeboten.
Inhalte:
Die Erstellung eines Exposés (z.B. für eine Stipendienbewerbung) stellt Promovierende in der Anfangsphase oft vor herausfordernde Aufgaben: Wie kann ich erkl?ren, was ich selbst noch erforschen will? Wie kann ich überzeugend darlegen, dass ich einen Weg zum Ziel ?Dissertation“ kenne, der für mich selbst oft genug noch nicht klar erscheint?
In diesem Workshop wollen wir Antworten auf diese Fragen finden, indem wir uns bewusst machen, was das Ziel eines Exposés ist und wie dieses durch einen klaren Aufbau, spezifische sprachliche Mittel und die Erstellung eines überzeugenden Zeitplans erreicht werden kann.
Ablauf:
- Eingrenzung des Themas über den Arbeitstitel
- Für wen schreibe ich das Exposé?
- Aufbau und Struktur des Exposés
- Umgang mit Unsicherheiten im Text
- Sprachliche Tipps & Tricks
- Zeitplanerstellung für das Exposé
Methode:
Die Trainerin gibt kurze Inputs über das Ziel eines Exposés und wie die Teilnehmenden dieses durch eine sinnvolle Vorstrukturierung der fachlichen Inhalte und eine geeignete sprachliche Darstellung erreichen k?nnen. Diese Inhalte üben die Teilnehmenden in kurzen Aufgabensequenzen selbstst?ndig ein. In der Arbeit in Kleingruppen wird das Gelernte auf die Promotionsvorhaben der Teilnehmenden übertragen.
Lernziele:
- Geeigneten Arbeitstitel formulieren
- Das eigene Exposé überzeugend aufbauen und klar formulieren
- Mit Unsicherheiten im Exposé souver?n umgehen
- Einen Zeitplan für das Dissertationsvorhaben erstellen
Maximale Teilnehmerzahl: 12 Personen
Zielgruppe: Promovierende und Master-Studierende mit der Absicht zu promovieren
Termin: 27.06.2025, 9:00 bis 13:30 Uhr (s.t.), inkl. 30 Minuten Pause
Arbeitseinheiten: 4
Ort: Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsverl?ufe (LIfBi), Wilhelmsplatz 3, Raum 02.20
Leitung: Alisa Müller, M.A.
Alisa Müller arbeitet in Nürnberg als Redaktionsleitung und seit zehn Jahren als freie Journalistin für verschiedene Printmedien. Sie hat in der slavischen Sprachwissenschaft an der Universit?t Bamberg promoviert.
Online-talk: Publication of the Dissertation (08.07.2025 von 13:00 bis 14:00h)
Content:
Online publication or publisher? What do I need to consider when publishing my dissertation? And how does the publication process work?
The doctoral regulations offer several options for publishing your dissertation. We will inform you about the advantages and disadvantages of these publication models and forms of publishing as well as the publication process.
The Research Information System (FIS), the platform for the online publication of the dissertation and the institutional repository of the University of Bamberg, will be presented. Using the University of Bamberg Press (UBP) as an example, the advantages of so-called hybrid publishing will also be discussed.
The event will also address the special features of cumulative dissertations, as well as copyright and contract law issues.
You are welcome to find out more in advance here.
Planned procedure:
- Thematic introduction by means of surveys
- Presentation on the publication of the dissertation with interactive impulses
- Space for individual questions
Participants learn about the various options for publishing their dissertation and the publication process by way of example.
Target group:doctoral students
Place and time: online; 08.07.2025, 13:00-14:00h
Working units:1 AE
Instructor:
Tessa Sauerwein / Bamberg University Library/ Universit?tsbibliothek Bamberg
Tessa Sauerwein, M.A., advises doctoral candidates on the publication of their dissertations and processes dissertations within the Research and Publication Services department of Bamberg University Library.
Registation: No registration required.
Zoom-Link:
https://uni-bamberg.zoom-x.de/j/64519539984
Meeting-ID: 645 1953 9984
Kenncode: fpsub2025!
Online Workshop: ?Academic Writing and Publishing Articles with AI Tools“ (28.07.2025, 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. & 22.09.2025 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.)
This workshop is offered in cooporation with the LIfBi.
Short Outline
In this course, we focus on the entire process of preparing and publishing an academic article in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). First, we lay the groundwork for using AI in the writing process by examining its functionalities, strengths and weaknesses, as well as the usage restrictions and relevant AI tools for academic writing. We then go through the writing and publishing processes from start to finish, including strategically finding suitable calls for papers, preparing an effective abstract, and using AI tools to assist with writing the manuscript, as well as navigating the peer review process. The course consists of asynchronous self-study units and exercises in which participants work on a current project. Participants will receive individual feedback from the trainer on their work, writing process, and use of AI as needed. During the synchronous sessions, we will discuss any challenges or questions that arise and reflect on practical examples and individual issues.
Learning objectives
Participants can …
- Define how generative AI works, its strengths and weaknesses
- Describe how to work with AI tools in academic writing?
- Tell which AI tools are useful and apply a selection of them in their academic writing process
- Describe the publication process of academic articles
Prepare an effective abstract and manuscript for a publication in an academic journal and use AI in this process adequately. Give and take feedback on academic texts professionall
Methods
- Self-study units (videos, academic writing, e-mail and voluntary individual support via mail/zoom/phone)?
- Plenary and smaller group discussions?
- WebQuest?
- Interactive AI and writing exercises and reflection
Peer-review simulation game?
The workshop is mainly aimed at Doctoral Candidates and Postdocs. In case of any vacant places, it is open to anyone interested.
Registration:
To register, please send an email to weiterbildung(at)lifbi.de by July 14, 2025. Registration is mandatory. The number of participants is limited to 15.
About the Trainer
Dr. Sabrina Sontheimer studied English Literature, German Linguistics and Theatre at LMU Munich. She holds a PhD in English Literature and has worked as a research assistant and lecturer at the Institute of English Philology at LMU for over 10 years. She is a certified trainer in university teaching and online didactics. From 2022-2024, she was co-manager of the Writing Center at LMU, responsible for the university teacher training in writing didactics as well as academic writing with AI tools.