Alenka Jelen-Sanchez being presented with Cora Maas award at this year’s ECPR Summer School
Alenka Jelen-Sanchez has won Cora Maas Award for the best-evaluated course at the ECPR (European Consortium for Political Research) Summer Methods School for her course Expert Interviews for Qualitative Data Generation.
ECPR Summer Methods School, hosted by the Central European University in Budapest, offers over 40 cutting-edge courses in qualitative and quantitative methodological topics delivered by experienced instructors. The event provides young scholars and early career researchers with important training in methodological skills and networking opportunities.
The Expert Interviews for Qualitative Data Generation course focuses on qualitative in-depth interviews with experts as one of the most popular research method in social and political sciences. It introduces participants to theoretical aspects of interviewing and trains them in practical strategies, methods and techniques in designing and conducting interviews. It also offers critical reflection tools for evaluating data generation process and ethical implications of this type of research.
When asked what are the positive points of the course, one of the participants stated “everything” while another one commended “the wealth of personal experience and anecdotes of the instructor”. Another participant noted that the course “transformed my view of my research and significantly enhanced my skillset” and several other participants labelled the course as inspiring.
Alenka was very honoured to receive the award and said: “It is a great surprise and a great honour to receive Cora Maas Award. I have really enjoyed working on this course with my students. While we work hard, we also have fun discovering and discussing various aspects and practicalities of expert interviewing. This has been a transformative experience for me too and I would like to thank all the participants for their hard work and insights on the course as well as their positive and valuable feedback.”
The Cora Maas Award is presented annually for the best evaluated course at the ECPR Summer School. Cora Maas, who died in February 2010, was a most outstanding pedagogue. She taught the ‘multilevel analysis’ course at the ECPR Summer School in Methods and Techniques in 2007 and 2008, before her health forced her to stop. She was a great inspiration for the junior researchers who followed her courses and in memory of this the ECPR have dedicated an award in her name to encourage junior researchers to aim for excellence in both methodology and pedagogy.