Hard-to-reach Populations in Political Science Research

Political scientists often want to study members of hard-to-reach populations. A population is “hard-to-reach” or “hidden” when no sampling frame exists, and acknowledgment of membership is potentially threatening. With such a broad definition, we might include opposition groups (from the right or the left), sexual minorities, political brokers, or refugees, to say some. While many methods have been developed to approach and study hidden populations, they have seldom been applied in political science research.

In this conference, we explore the scope for integrating methods developed in sociology and demography for studying hard-to-reach populations relevant to political scientists. We further seek to assess the potential of blending these measurement strategies with truth-eliciting mechanisms commonly used in survey research. 

The conference is divided into two parts: the first consists of a series of teach-ins by experts in developing and applying hard-to-reach population methods. The second part will be a round of discussion of early research ideas from a group of projects by young scholars selected in a previous call for proposals.

This event is organized by WZB Institutions and Political Inequality unit. If you would like to attend the event as a guest, please register here.