Students from the MA in Political Science and Nationalism Studies departments, enrolled in the Field Research and Qualitative Data Analysis course, presented a report for Amnesty International Austria on civic engagement of the youth. The report details the findings of the project work “interview lab”, which constitutes the practical exercise of the course in drafting the interview guide, conducting interviews, coding and analyzing interviews’ transcripts with QDA software and visualizing findings of qualitative data analysis.
In the framework of the “interview lab” and in cooperation with Amnesty International Austria the course participants conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with high school and university students, the majority based in Vienna, to investigate what (de-) motivates youth engagement in civic activities such as protests, demonstrations, as well as campaigns. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth socialization practices and civic engagement activities was also discussed with the interviewees.
The project was coordinated by Prof. Inna Melnykovska and Franziska Wagner, doctoral candidate at the Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations.
The report was presented at the Open Society University Network Science Shop held on June 15 at CEU campus.