Research context

Within the ongoing SOSEC project (https://www.socialsentiment.org/en/) we compile biweekly survey data using a panel on political and socially relevant topics since November 2022. We thus already gathered a large multidimensional dataset with over 100 survey waves in Germany and the US that allows for nuanced analyses.

Goal of the thesis

You evaluate our empirical survey data on perceived polarization using different methods. Potential focus points could be:

Generational, gender and socio-economic differences,
Rural-urban cleavages,
Political partisanship,
Primary worries and concerns,
Media use habits,
Interpretable ML-Methods for forecasting social sentiments.

Formal prerequisites

First, a review on the most important literature on perceived polarization must be conducted. These publications can be used as a starting point:

Departing from this, we will identify a research gap and specify research hypotheses. The scope and statistical/ML methods will be selected accordingly. Programming experience in Python or R is of advantage as well as an interest in contemporary democracy studies.
Please send us a short motivation letter and a current transcript of records. The thesis may be written either in German or in English. Starting dates can be arranged as of now. For any questions feel free to reach out (david.borukhson∂kit.edu)!