Methodology Workshops
IZeF organises methodology workshops approximately every six months. The aim is to qualify young academics in particular to conduct methodologically sound empirical work. As a rule, the workshops are held in cooperation with the Graduate School of the Faculty of Human Sciences of the University of Cologne. National and international experts can regularly be recruited as speakers.
Current Workshops
Workshop “IRT Scaling”
On March 24, 2025, a full-day IRT Scaling workshop will be held at the University of Cologne, led by Prof. Dr. Johannes Harting.
Interested individuals are warmly invited to register and participate in this workshop.
Registration is possible via email at office-izef@uni-koeln.de.
Workshop “Missing Data in Statistics”
On March 13, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, the workshop "Missing Data in Statistics" will be held, led by Dr. Alexander Robitzsch.
Missing data often occur in most empirical studies. Missing data may arise because individuals are absent at certain measurement points or refuse to answer specific questions or provide certain information.
In this workshop, we will discuss the two most common methods for handling missing data. First, missing data can be replaced multiple times (multiple imputation), after which the analysis results from the imputed datasets must be appropriately combined. Secondly, a method called full information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation is often used, where all available information from the involved variables is utilized for the analysis model of interest. The advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches will be discussed during the workshop. We will also focus on handling missing data in moderate sample sizes (N < 500) with many variables, as well as in multilevel structures (students nested in classes or schools) and longitudinal data. The implementation of these methods will be done using the statistical software R.
The workshop will use the free statistical software R (or RStudio). The following R packages need to be installed in addition: mice, miceadds, mitml, lavaan, semTools.
Registration is possible via email at Graduiertenschule-HF@uni-koeln.de.
Past workshops
Don't be afraid of SPSS - basics and tricks in June 2023
In the two-day workshop, the participants received an application-oriented introduction to the basic functions of the IBM SPSS Statistics software, with a focus on the pragmatic and goal-oriented use of the programme.
The workshop was led by Dr Matthias Krepf and Dr Sarah Strauß (University of Cologne, Department of ‘Empirical School Research - Focus on Quantitative Methods’) and took place in cooperation between the Graduate School of the Faculty of Human Sciences, the Graduate School for Teacher Education and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Empirical Teacher and Instructional Research (IZeF).
Multi-level models in Mplus in March 2023
In the two workshops offered by the Graduate School of the Faculty of Human Sciences on the topic of ‘Multi-level models in Mplus’, a general introduction to the analysis of multi-level models was first given and, building on this content, the analysis of multi-level structural equation models and the application of Mplus to analyse context and composition effects were discussed.
Don't be afraid of SPSS - basics and tricks in December 2022
In the two-day workshop, the participants received an application-oriented introduction to the basic functions of the IBM SPSS Statistics software, with a focus on the pragmatic and goal-oriented use of the programme.
The workshop was led by Dr Matthias Krepf and Dr Sarah Strauß (University of Cologne, Department of ‘Empirical School Research - Focus on Quantitative Methods’) and took place in cooperation between the Graduate School of the Faculty of Human Sciences, the Graduate School for Teacher Education and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Empirical Teacher and Instructional Research (IZeF).
Systematic review in June/July 2022
Dr.in Anna Bachsleitner, Ronja Lämmchen, DIPF
R crash course in January 2022
In this multi-day methods workshop, participants received a crash course in the statistics programme R. The workshop was led by Dr Till Kaiser (Faculty of Psychology, Psychological Methodology, Ruhr University Bochum).
The workshop was organised in cooperation between the Interdisciplinary Centre for Empirical Research on Teachers and Teaching (IZeF) and the Graduate School of the Faculty of Human Sciences.
Mix of methods in December 2021
Prof. Dr. Nils Buchholtz led the workshop, organised by the IZeF and the Graduate School of the Faculty of Human Sciences, in which the participants received an introduction to mixed methods and their practical application. In addition, the Point of Integration and Joint Displays methods and their application in research were presented. Finally, the participants had the opportunity to ask and discuss questions about their own research projects.
Multi-level modelling in November 2021
In this workshop, participants received an introduction to multilevel modelling and its application in the statistical software Mplus and R. In addition, participants were able to discuss their own research questions and receive feedback on their work with Mplus and R. The workshop was led by Dr Malte Jansen and organised in cooperation between the IZeF and the Graduate School of the Faculty of Human Sciences.
Structural equation modelling in May 2020
The two-day workshop on ‘Structural equation models: confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis and longitudinal models’, led by Prof Dr Christian Rietz (Heidelberg University of Education), was aimed at doctoral students in the ‘advanced initial stage’ of their doctorate. On the one hand, the participants were given pointers for deciding whether they wanted to use the relevant methods for their own research and, on the other hand, advice or assistance for working on their own research data. The workshop was organised in cooperation with the IZeF and the Humpf Graduate School.
Structural equation modelling in July 2018
The workshop, led by Dr Rainer Leonhart (University of Freiburg), was aimed at advanced beginners and taught the theoretical basics of structural equation models as well as practical knowledge, which was acquired using the AMOS and MPlus programmes.
IZeF methods workshop in December 2017
IRT workshop (introduction)
This introductory workshop covered the basics of IRT scaling, including the Rasch model. One focus was on the direct application of what was learnt to each participant's own data set.
IZeF methods workshop in June 2017
Multilevel analyses
The English-language workshop dealt with the problem that data in empirical educational research often occur in the form of hierarchically clustered groups, such as pupils in different school classes at different schools. Various methods of analysis such as multi-level models for repeated measures and multivariate models were presented by Prof. Dr Fred Hasselmann from the University of Nijmegen.
IZeF methods workshop in July and December 2016
IRT scaling I and II
Similar to the workshop in February 2015, this workshop, also led by Dr Andreas Seifert, focused on the basics, such as the partial credit model, the interpretation of the output graphs, the interaction of the properties in the Rasch model and the Rasch model in longitudinal analyses. Building on this, a second workshop was held in particular to analyse and discuss the participants' own data.
IZeF methods workshop in February 2015
Item Response Theory (IRT): Introduction and scaling techniques
The aim of this method workshop was to provide a general introduction to IRT scaling and the Rasch model. In addition, joint calculations with example files were carried out. The speaker was Dr Andreas Seifert from the University of Paderborn.
