Denis Cohen
@denis-cohen.bsky.social
Senior research fellow @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social. Research on spatial inequalities, electoral politics, quantitative social science. Lead organizer of the MZES Social Science Data Lab (@mzes-ssdl.bsky.social). #firstgen. He/him.
📢 The Call for Papers for EPSS 2027 is open! After a fantastic first conference in Belfast, we’re heading to Copenhagen 🇩🇰, 24–26 June 2027. ⏰ Deadline: 13 Nov 2026 👉 Call for papers: epssnet.org/2027-copenha... 1/2
Call for Papers | EPSS Belfast 2026 Conference
Submit your abstract or full paper for EPSS Belfast 2026. Share cutting‑edge political science research, network with peers & contribute to academic impact.
epssnet.org
🧵 Just accepted @thejop.bsky.social, with @tswalve.bsky.social "What's in a name? Name recognition, place-based identities, and candidate success" Voters prefer local candidates. But how do they know who's local? Often simply from the name on the ballot👇 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
What's in a name? Name recognition, place-based identities, and candidate success | The Journal of Politics: Vol 0, No ja
journals.uchicago.edu
🕑 Join us *today* at 13:45 CEST for the talk 'Harnessing GPT for Enhanced Academic Writing: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Early-Career Researchers in the Social Sciences' by Marc Ratkovic (University of Mannheim) ⬇️ Zoom link and details below
MZES Social Science Data Lab@mzes-ssdl.bsky.social · 2w ago🚨 Upcoming: "Harnessing GPT for Enhanced Academic Writing: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Early-Career Researchers in the Social Sciences" 👤 Marc Ratkovic (University of Mannheim) 🗓️ Wed, September 16, 13:45-15:15 CET 📺 Register for the live stream: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
![2026-09-16 | Input talk | Marc Ratkovic (University of Mannheim)
Harnessing GPT for Enhanced Academic Writing: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Early-Career Researchers in the Social Sciences
more
Hybrid event [A5, 6, Room A231 + Zoom]
September 16, 2026, 13:45-15:15
Abstract
Large Language Models (LLMs) bring both risk and opportunity to scholarly communication, yet their effects on expert-level research remain untested. We conducted the first randomized controlled trial of GPT-4 in expert academic writing, implemented as a three-day hackathon (n=22 early-career social scientists) in collaboration with Springer Nature. Participants were randomized to unrestricted GPT access or a no-AI control. Manuscripts were evaluated pre-and post-intervention by expert faculty and postdoctoral researchers on six dimensions: clarity, coherence, originality, methodological rigor, depth of analysis, and literature relevance. AI assistance produced significant improvements in clarity (Δ=+0.49, p=0.009) and coherence (Δ=+0.43, p=0.036) without affecting other dimensions. Principal-components analysis confirmed AI's selective enhancement of organizational features. SakanaAI, a GPT-based reviewer, aligned broadly with human assessments. A linguistic analysis of participants' reflective journals revealed increased process-oriented language and reduced temporal references, suggesting a reallocation of cognitive resources. Although concerns about overreliance and academic integrity persist, our findings imply that delegating routine structuring tasks to AI can free scholars to focus on generating novel insights.
Presenter(s)
Marc Ratkovic is Professor of Political Science and Social Data Science at the University of Mannheim and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Global Responsible Tech Lab. Previously at Princeton University, his research spans political methodology, causal inference, and machine learning and has appeared in leading journals in political science and statistics.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:oizrkjzyr6vekl76tjctghcl/bafkreifpssyfllrstbpry2zsxhsgb3fg4y5cki5vm2hjyikf6mi4paab2a)
Sie darf Staatsbürger*innen nicht wegen ihrer Abstammung diskriminieren. Ein solches Ziel wird bereits durch die begrifflich-ideologische Unterscheidung zwischen „echten“ und „Passdeutschen“ indiziert. Denn Parteien sind dazu da, aus Ideologie Politik zu machen. Wir haben aber darüberhinaus
Ein letzter Post dann doch noch. Die Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte wird jetzt mehr gebraucht denn je. Informiert euch über ihre Arbeit. Hier kann man spenden: freiheitsrechte.org/bereit
#Bereit: Schutzschild gegen Grundrechtsverstöße in Sachsen-Anhalt
freiheitsrechte.org
▶️ Social Science Data Lab: Fall 2026 Events Four input talks by great researchers (see below ⤵️)! 🗓️ Details & Zoom: socialsciencedatalab.mzes.uni-mannheim.de/page/events/ 👥 Organizers: @rubac.bsky.social, @denis-cohen.bsky.social, Nadia Granato and Alexander Wenz
📢 Call for papers for several panels associated with the @dvpw.bsky.social Methods section for the 2027 conference in Leipzig on causal inference, survey experiments, text as data & AI, measuring democracy, data on democratic challenges, climate communication & tools for theory 📆31/10/26 Panels 🧵👇
Ich habe hier zusammengefasst, wie die etablierten Parteien entscheidend zur Stärkung radikal rechter Parteien wie der AfD beigetragen haben. Auch als Reaktion auf den Wahlausgang gestern sehen wir wieder die genau gleichen Narrative aus Politik und Medien. Man bleibt im Teufelskreis gefangen.
New working paper w/ @denis-cohen.bsky.social @rantuna.bsky.social & @turnbulldugarte.com! *Does publicly refusing to cooperate with the far right only strengthen it?* A widespread belief says yes. In this paper, we test it based on a natural experiment from Spain. tinyurl.com/5azkfnas [1/6]
Three weeks ago, the inaugural @epssnet.bsky.social conference took place in Belfast. The enthusiasm, active participation and support from the community made this conference a huge success.
💡 Reminder: Open call for two additional contributions to our Special Issue "Methodological Advances for the Study of German Politics" @pvs-journal.bsky.social. 📅 Submit your abstract by the end of this week ⬇️ Details below
Denis Cohen@denis-cohen.bsky.social · 3mo ago📢 Open call for two additional contributions to our Special Issue "Methodological Advances for the Study of German Politics" @pvs-journal.bsky.social. 📄 Submit by July 12: www.sosci.uni-hamburg.de/pvs/ ℹ️ www.dvpw.de/gliederung/s... @gessler.bsky.social @lukrudolph.bsky.social @dvpw.bsky.social
One day left to apply! Join us @uni-konstanz.de as #PhD researcher on Electoral Behavior, Inequality and Climate Change Policies stellen.uni-konstanz.de/jobposting/d... #AcademicJobs
Doctoral Researcher in Electoral Behavior, Inequality, and Climate Change Policies
Deadline: July 5th, 2026
stellen.uni-konstanz.de
Lukas Rudolph@lukrudolph.bsky.social · 3mo ago📢 #PhD Researcher at the #PoliticalScience Department & Inequality-Cluster @uni-konstanz.de Apply by July 5 to join our @dfg.de funded team researching citizens' demand for representation amidst Green Transition infrastructure conflict #AcademicJobs Call: stellen.uni-konstanz.de/jobposting/d...
📢 Job Ad: I am looking for one doctoral researcher (75%) in my newly funded DFG project on misperceptions and factual information on immigration from 1.10. or soon after! 📌 Location: MZES, University of Mannheim 💢 Application Deadline: 21st of July
📢 Open call for two additional contributions to our Special Issue "Methodological Advances for the Study of German Politics" @pvs-journal.bsky.social. 📄 Submit by July 12: www.sosci.uni-hamburg.de/pvs/ ℹ️ www.dvpw.de/gliederung/s... @gessler.bsky.social @lukrudolph.bsky.social @dvpw.bsky.social
Thankful to @freitag.de for this write-up about my book on the normalization of the radical right, which has recently come out in German: www.freitag.de/autoren/der-...
Vicente Valentim: Es gibt keinen Rechtsruck, radikale Ansichten gab es immer
Mit seinem Buch „Die Normalisierung der radikalen Rechten“ hat Vicente Valentim ein Schlüsselwerk zum Verständnis der europäischen Rechtspopulisten geliefert. Seine These: Mehr Rechtsextreme gibt es h...
freitag.de
What a wonderful few days in Belfast for #EPSS2026 and what a fantastic community! Thank you to everyone who joined the conference with such enthusiasm A special thanks to @simonhix.bsky.social @kenbenoit.bsky.social @macartan.bsky.social & the rest of the EPSS Council for making it all possible
Many thanks to our two outgoing #EPSS Council members - @sopro.bsky.social and @markkayser.bsky.social - and welcome to our two new elected Council members @argohdes.bsky.social and @anjaneundorf.bsky.social!
Are you a first generation political scientist? Then join the EPSS First Gen Social Gathering 📆10:50-12:30 Saturday, 20 June, 2026, Bar 2 (ICC) 👥Organizers: @carogarriga.bsky.social and @sattlersthomas.bsky.social Please drop by, bring your own coffee ☕️ and meet other First Gen PhDs 👩🎓👨🎓🧑🎓.
Heading to the #EPSSBelfast conference next week? The EPSS Diversity Committee has organized several events to make this a welcoming space for everyone. Quick thread on what's happening and when 👇
Also on Thursday at EPSS, my great co-author Susanna Wirthgen will present a paper with @denis-cohen.bsky.social and me on electoral responses to local rental-market interventions in Berlin. 2/2
📢 #PhD Researcher at the #PoliticalScience Department & Inequality-Cluster @uni-konstanz.de Apply by July 5 to join our @dfg.de funded team researching citizens' demand for representation amidst Green Transition infrastructure conflict #AcademicJobs Call: stellen.uni-konstanz.de/jobposting/d...
Doctoral Researcher in Electoral Behavior, Inequality, and Climate Change Policies
Deadline: July 5th, 2026
stellen.uni-konstanz.de
New paper out in the @thejop.bsky.social (w/ @christinagahn.bsky.social) Do opinion polls shape election results? Using both cross-national data and a survey experiment, the answer we find is yes - though it depends on how we communicate polling results. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
New paper w/ @lstoetze.bsky.social "Estimating Treatment Effects on Proportions with Synthetic Controls" out in @polanalysis.bsky.social 👀 When your outcomes are compositional (such as vote shares), applying synthetic controls separately to each part can break the math. We show how to fix it: 🧵
Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR@cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 4mo ago#OpenAccess from @polanalysis.bsky.social - Estimating Treatment Effects on Proportions with Synthetic Controls - https://cup.org/4nInIjU - @bogatyrev.bsky.social & @lstoetze.bsky.social #FirstView
Can France still be governed under its current electoral system? After almost two years of parliamentary fragmentation, the situation remains unsettled: huge frustration, no stable majority and a presidential election already casting its polarising shadow over parliamentary life.
📄 New paper with a fantastic MA student @jmschulte.bsky.social: When social democrats move right on migration, do voters actually follow? We study Olaf Scholz's radical shift on migration in Germany (October 2023).
🚨 Upcoming: "AIn't Nothing But a Survey? Using Large Language Models for Coding Open-Ended Survey Responses" 👤 Leah von der Heyde (GESIS) 🗓️ Wed, April 22, 13:45-15:15 CET 📺 Register for the live stream: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... 🔗 socialsciencedatalab.mzes.uni-mannheim.de/page/events/
![2026-04-22 | Input talk | Leah von der Heyde (GESIS)
AIn't Nothing But a Survey? Using Large Language Models for Coding Open-Ended Survey Responses
Hybrid event [A5, 6, Room A231 + Zoom]
April 22, 2026, 13:45-15:15
Abstract
Large language models (LLMs) have the potential to make survey research more efficient, including the classification of open-ended survey responses. However, as most existing research on this topic has focused on English-language text or single LLMs, it is unclear whether their applicability generalizes and how the quality of classifications compares to established methods. In this talk, I will demonstrate how LLMs can be used for coding open-ended responses using different access options and prompting and fine-tuning techniques. I will present a study testing these approaches on a dataset of German open-ended survey responses, comparing several LLMs to human coders and other automated methods. Finally, I will discuss the implications of the study findings for practitioners, including the many trade-offs researchers need to consider.
Presenter(s)
Leah von der Heyde is a computational social scientist and survey methodologist. Her research focuses on the potential and pitfalls of new data sources, such as large language models, for improving the measurement and representation of public opinion. Substantively, she is particularly interested in political attitudes and voting behavior. Leah received her PhD in Social Data Science and Research Methodology from the University of Mannheim. She has a background in political science from LMU Munich, the University of Mannheim, and Georgetown University. Previously, Leah was part of the Social Data Science and AI Lab at LMU Munich, worked for the European Social Survey at GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, the European Parliamentary Research Service, and several market and public opinion research institutes in Germany and Sweden. At GESIS, she is part of KODAQS, researching and educating…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:oizrkjzyr6vekl76tjctghcl/bafkreigb4xgjzges3yeoup7w3z3goxg6fgei4qiystwxbq4zkvjughks6m)
An @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social post on our recently published paper in @psrm.bsky.social is now available! 👇
António Valentim@antvalentim.bsky.social · 6mo agoOur piece at @psrm.bsky.social (w/ @korinlind.bsky.social) is summarised in this @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social post We study why progressive parties may struggle to win immigrant votes focusing on green parties & home country institutions. Full paper: shorturl.at/xI55f blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...