Research at the Department of Sociology
Researchers at the Department of Sociology are concerned with central social phenomena, particularly with demographic change, education and labor markets, migration and integration, and developments in private sector and welfare state organizations and institutions.
Research activities at the Department are clearly empirical-analytical in nature, which means they draw on empirical data, but are informed by theory and based on rigorous methods. Frequently, empirical studies are also complemented with international comparisons and longitudinal studies. Extensive surveys, administrative data, experimental designs, and historical sources form the basis of empirical research.
Research projects
Research at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)
The vast majority of projects are carried out at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES). There, members of the Department make important contributions to comparative research on European societies. Among other things, they compare education systems and the development of labor markets and occupations and analyze social inequality and social mobility, changing family patterns, and integration of migrants. In order to promote research on migration and integration at the MZES, a temporary professorship is currently being established. It is funded by the Land of Baden-Württemberg and is part of a research community created by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) and financially supported by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.