The Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences promotes innovative, excellent, problem-oriented research that aspires to contribute to societal debates and address key global challenges.

The cohorts trained and supported by the ViDSS are part of a vibrant research environment and international networks. The ViDSS encompasses and fosters connections between a broad range of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives. The ViDSS embraces the entire range of epistemological, methodological and theoretical approaches that are employed at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Doctoral candidates receive research training and write a doctoral thesis in the fields of communication, demography, development studies, nursing science, political science, science and technology studies, social and cultural anthropology, and sociology. The ViDSS aims for the highest standards in doctoral training and close supervision to ensure a mastery of social scientific debates and relevant theories and methods. As a result, ViDSS graduates are highly employable both within and outside academia.

Media coverage
 

A recent publication by ViDSS student member Claire Roney (co-authored with Jana Laura Egelhofer and Sophie Lecheler) indicates that researchers often find themselves torn between wanting to communicate their findings and fearing negative reactions in politicised discourse. (In German)
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Fellowships and awards
 

Six doctoral candidates in our programme are among this year’s recipients of a DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Congratulations to Audacia Alicia Machado Ngunza, Manuela Novoa-Villada, Veronika Nowak, Azadeh Shamsi, Johanna Greiwe and Leon Holger Switala!
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Media coverage
 

In his article on the new deposit law in Austria, ViDSS student member Elias Weiss sheds light on the negative consequences associated with the new law and calls on politicians to return to a framework that respects human dignity, in which recycling is organised as a public service. (In German)
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Fellowships and awards
 

Paul Malschinger was awarded the Österreichischer Berufsbildungsforschungspreis for his doctoral thesis entitled ’Unequal paths towards the future? Young people’s future life goals after compulsory secondary school in Vienna and goal development over time’. Congratulations!
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Radio and podcast
 

Olga Malashkina and Beate Krapfenbauer shine the spotlight on self-funded PhD candidates who are in full-time employment. Our guest Ricarda Götz-Preisner discusses the challenges she faces, her goals and motivations, and how the skills she has developed in her professional life will help her reach the end of her PhD journey.
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Outreach
 

Why do democracies decline even when most people claim to support them? ViDSS alumna Marta Vukovic explains why citizens are not always unconditional defenders of liberal democracy. Under certain circumstances, people may tolerate or even support democratic violations – especially when political elites justify them in ways that appear legitimate.
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Outreach
 

Together with Ana Mijić, sociologist and ViDSS student member Slađana Adamović held a workshop on the topic of identity in the context of war and displacement with 5th grade students in Vienna. Through the OeAD initiative “Science Ambassadors”, cutting-edge research is brought directly into the daily lives of students in schools, kindergartens, and libraries.
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Fellowships and awards
 

Communication scientist and ViDSS Alumna Jaroslava Kaňková was awarded the Abby Prestin Dissertation of the Year Award for her dissertation “With great power comes great responsibility: Misleading health messaging by social media influencers – characteristics, effects, and countering strategies”. Congratulations!
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Fellowships and awards
 

Communication scientists Vanja Bojanic, Diego Garusi, Maryam Khaleghipour, Birte Leonhardt and Daniel Wiesner have received awards for their (co-authored) papers and posters from a variety of divisions and interest groups during the annual conference of the International Communication Association in Cape Town. Congratulations!
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New publications by ViDSS students

Showing entries 1 - 30 out of 88
Connective action and digital repression during China’s COVID-19 protests: A computational analysis of multilingual coordinated activity on Twitter. / Kulichkina, Aytalina (Corresponding author); Balluff, Paul; Righetti, Nicola et al.
In: EPJ Data Science, Vol. 15, No. 1, 39, 12.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Governing bodies, controlling territories: gendered extractivist biopolitics in Peru’s Southern Mining Corridor. / Heuser, Ali (Corresponding author); Preiser, Anna.
In: Geoforum, Vol. 175, 104710, 10.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Disclosures and literacy as determinants of AI-influencer recognition and well-being. / Forrai, Michaela (Corresponding author); Balaban, Delia C.; Schmuck, Desiree.
In: Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 182, 108978, 09.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Derrida, deconstruction and political theory. / Pistrol, Florian; Weithaler, Anna.
In: Contemporary Political Theory, Vol. 2026, No. 25, 19.08.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Review

Death by Design: Wie schlechte Politik tötet: Plötzlich hat jede Flasche einen kleinen Geldwert, der irgendwo im öffentlichen Raum "herumliegt". Wer wenig bis gar kein Einkommen hat, soll diesen Wert offenbar "heben". / Weiss, Elias.
In: derStandard.at, 18.08.2026.

Publications: Other contribution to periodical › Newspaper/Magazine article

When solidarity turns bad: Misappropriated and exclusive solidarity as problematic forms of solidarity in healthcare. / Weiss, Elias; Prainsack, Barbara.
In: Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 403, 119417, 08.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Governance in action: the role of pediatricians in childhood immunization. / Hansl, Nora; Paul, Katharina Theresa (Corresponding author).
In: Critical Policy Studies, 30.07.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

An eye-tracking study: Perceptions of greenwashing and the impact of greenwashing literacy. / Neureiter, Ariadne (Corresponding author); Schröter, Sophie-Catherine; Matthes, Jörg et al.
In: Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16.07.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Profiling digital hate: A multidimensional measurement approach based on the Perspective API. / Kirchmair, Thomas (Corresponding author); Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Social Science Computer Review, 11.07.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Fantastic bystanders and where to find them: Do emotions fuel (in)direct interventions when bystanders face anti-LGBTQIA+ hostility on social media? / Saumer, Melanie (Corresponding author); Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Mass Communication and Society , 07.07.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Navigating the In-Between: Immigrant Children’s School Integration in Vienna. / Arendas, Zsusanna (Corresponding author); Wolter, Stella; Keller, Judit.
Navigating Diaspora: Migrant Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Identity. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2026. p. 217-240.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

Differentiated or degrading? Exploring users’ perceptions and potential implications of gender bias in chatbot interactions. / Wölfle, Alexandra; Schmuck, Desiree.
In: International Journal of Human-Computer-Interaction, 22.06.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

A dangerous bond? Identification with social media influencers and the effects of mental health misinformation and overgeneralized messaging. / Kanková, Jaroslava (Corresponding author); Matthes, Jörg.
In: Media Psychology, 20.06.2026, p. 1-24.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Rethinking policy learning in urban policy mobility. / Ahn, Byeongsun (Corresponding author); Kazepov, Yuri Albert Kyrill.
In: Urban Studies, 11.06.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

The paradox of fanaticism: Hegemony beyond dangerous victory. / Vyaznikov, Denis.
In: Thesis Eleven, 03.06.2026, p. 1.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Attending to ‘Computational Universalism’: Practices, Frictions, Events. / Davies, Sarah R. (Corresponding author); Díaz-Valderrama, Miller.
In: Social Studies of Science, Vol. 56, No. 3, 06.2026, p. 340-352.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Is generative AI your new therapist? A cross-cultural model of generative AI affordances, trust, use intentions, and willingness to attend in-person therapy. / Kanková, Jaroslava; Vranken, Sofie; Matthes, Jörg et al.
In: SSM - Mental Health, Vol. 9, 100630, 06.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Multi-scale scenario building for community development: Exploring transport infrastructure futures in the circumpolar North. / Strelkovskii, Nikita (Corresponding author); Budka, Philipp; Erokhin, Dmitry et al.
In: Futures, Vol. 180, 103834, 06.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Ordinary people over journalists? Young people’s use of different curating actors for news. / Klesl, Maximilian; Harff, Darian; Schmuck, Desiree.
In: Journalism and Media, Vol. 7, No. 2, 101, 06.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Integrating Translation and Interpreting Into Qualitative Methods Teaching: Didactic Insights From an Interdisciplinary Collaboration. / Holzinger, Clara; Pasch, Harald; Rennert, Sylvi.
In: Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung, Vol. 27, No. 2, Art. 7, 27.05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Wenn grenzüberschreitende Mobilität und Sprachkenntnisse den Zugang zu sozialer Sicherheit erschweren: Fallstudien aus Österreich. / Holzinger, Clara; Scheibelhofer, Elisabeth; Draxl, Anna-Katharina.
Sozialpolitik und Migrationskontrolle: Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. ed. / Lisa Borelli; Stefanie Kurt; Nora Ratzmann. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2026. p. 169-188.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

Annotation in action: Experimental perspectives on perceiving and labeling digital hate across four European countries. / Kirchmair, Thomas (Corresponding author); Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, Vol. 2026, No. 1, 3332187, 15.05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

From neutrality to engagement: Young audiences’ evaluations of interventionist journalism across media platforms. / Leonhardt, Birte Marina; Uth, Bernadette.
In: Journalism, 13.05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

The influence of school visits by politicians on young people’s attitudes towards politics. / Kegel, Jule; Scheidig, Falk.
In: Parliamentary Affairs, 11.05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

The strategic provocation of digital hate: Empowered targets’ perceptions of perpetrators and bystanders. / Khaleghipour, Maryam; Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Information, Communication & Society, 11.05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Fluidity in fertility timing intentions among childless men and women. / Singh, Shalini.
In: Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vol. 24, 06.05.2026, p. 1-18.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Caught in the storm: A qualitative study on digital hate targeting scholars. / Khaleghipour, Maryam (Corresponding author); Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Vol. 22, 101059, 05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Mothers' strategies to reconcile roles and responsibilities during the COVID‐19 pandemic. / Dafert, Vera (Corresponding author); Zartler, Ulrike.
In: Family Relations, 05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Time to BeReal! Exploring users' well-being in relation to BeReal use duration. / Kanková, Jaroslava (Corresponding author); Stevic, Anja; Binder, Alice et al.
In: New Media & Society, Vol. 28, No. 5, 05.2026, p. 2101-2120.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Who cares about artificial intelligence? Human and artificial voices in audiobooks. / Ahrens-Schwabe, Annika (Corresponding author); Kosch, Lukas; Stocker, Günther et al.
In: Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Vol. 22, 101068, 05.2026.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Showing entries 1 - 30 out of 88