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 articles and press releases
 

A recent publication by ViDSS Student Carolin Hirt (co-authored with Alina Brad, Etienne Schneider, Christian Dorninger, Willi Haas, Dominik Wiedenhofer and Simone Gingrich) reveals that climate policy in Austria focus on efficiency improvements and technological alternatives. Measures aimed at directly reducing emissions-intensive demand remain largely untapped. (In German)
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Communication scientist, ViDSS Alumna and former sowi:doc Fellow Selina Noetzel received one of the 40 Awards of Excellence (Staatspreise für die besten Dissertationen) for her doctoral thesis “Why am I seeing this? Cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects of online political microtargeting”. Congratulations!
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Blog
 

(by Jule Kegel)

When asked about their views on politicians, the British public does not hold back. Eight in ten Britons agree that the gap between ordinary people and politicians is wider than the differences among ordinary people. The same proportion say that MPs in Parliament ...
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Media articles and press releases
 

Together with Ulrike Zartler and Lena Grabner, sociologist Vera Dafert presents the project “How 2 Survive A Pandemic” which investigates how the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns changed the daily lives of youth and the competencies they developed to overcome this crisis. (In German)
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Video
 

Political scientist Adham Hamed was interviewed by the TV channel Puls 24 about the implications of the 20-point Gaza Peace Plan initiated by US President Donald Trump and the risks related to its implementation. (In German)
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Media articles and press releases
 

Together with Katharina T. Paul, political scientist Nora Hansl explains that while klindergartens could serve as an important opportunity for distributing information about vaccinations among parents, they are not yet included in official vaccination education strategies. (In German)
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Fellowship and award winners
 

The sowi:doc Awards for the academic year 2024/2025 are awarded to Ivan Josipovic (“The politics and legitimacy of digital evidence in asylum governance”), Selina Noetzel (“Why am I seeing this? Cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects of online political microtargeting”) and Christina Siegert (“Poverty risk within couples across the family life course”). Congratulations!
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Fellowship and award winners
 

Social and cultural anthropologist and ViDSS Student Alberto Enrique Buela Acevedo was awarded a DOC Fellowship by the Austrian Academy of Sciences for his doctoral thesis project on social networks and resilience among indigenous rural communities in the Arctic. Congratulations!
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Radio and podcast
 

Felix Maile and Dorota Vargová provide insights into their experiences with archives and data bases. Learn about the extraordinary lengths they had to go to chase primary sources, which ethical questions they have to deal with and why they are not using any AI tools for their analyses.
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New publications by ViDSS students

Showing entries 1 - 20 out of 105
Der institutionelle und wissenschaftliche Kontext der Studie Wege in die Zukunft. / Danner, Katharina; Duncan, Michael; Flecker, Jörg et al.
Lebenswege junger Menschen in Wien: Analysen zu Berufswahl, Engagement und Wohlbefinden. ed. / Katharina Danner; Michael Duncan; Jörg Flecker; Paul Malschinger; Veronika Wöhrer. 1. ed. Göttingen: V&R unipress, Vienna University Press, 2026. p. 11 - 30.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

Eine Mixed-Methods-Studie im Rückblick: forschungspraktische Erfahrungen qualitativer und quantitativer Panelerhebungen. / Malschinger, Paul; Danner, Katharina; Duncan, Michael et al.
Lebenswege junger Menschen in Wien. : Analysen zu Berufswahl, Engagement und Wohlbefinden. ed. / Katharina Danner; Michael Duncan; Jörg Flecker; Paul Malschinger; Veronika Wöhrer. 1. ed. Göttingen: V&R unipress, Vienna University Press, 2026. p. 31-54.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

„Ich will Immos, ich will Dollars“ – oder doch meinen Interessen folgen? Berufsbiographische Orientierung von Wiener Jugendlichen am Ende der Mittelschule. / Duncan, Michael.
Lebenswege junger Menschen in Wien.: Analysen zu Berufswahl, Engagement und Wohlbefinden. ed. / Katharina Danner; Michael Duncan; Jörg Flecker; Paul Malschinger; Veronika Wöhrer. 1. ed. Göttingen: V&R unipress, Vienna University Press, 2026. p. 57-80.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

Lebenswege junger Menschen in Wien – Analysen zu Berufswahl, Engagement und Wohlbefinden. / Danner, Katharina; Duncan, Michael; Flecker, Jörg et al.
1 ed. Göttingen: V&R unipress, 2026. 278 p.

Publications: Book › Collection › Peer Reviewed

Lebenswege junger Menschen und soziale Ungleichheit: Verortungen in der interdisziplinären Jugendforschung. / Duncan, Michael; Danner, Katharina; Flecker, Jörg et al.
Lebenswege junger Menschen in Wien: Analysen zu Berufswahl, Engagement und Wohlbefinden. ed. / Katharina Danner; Michael Duncan; Jörg Flecker; Paul Malschinger; Veronika Wöhrer. 1. ed. Göttingen: V&R unipress, Vienna University Press, 2026. p. 259-274.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

Multilingual Challenges: Empirical Social Research in Migration Societies, Transnational Spaces, and International Contexts. / Holzinger, Clara; Draxl, Anna-Katharina.
Social Inclusion, 2026.

Publications: Book › Special Issue › Peer Reviewed

Politische Partizipation von jungen Menschen in Wien: Ungleichheiten nach Geschlecht, familiärem Hintergrund und (Aus-)Bildungsweg. / Malschinger, Paul.
Lebenswege junger Menschen in Wien. Analysen zu Berufswahl, Engagement und Wohlbefinden. ed. / Katharina Danner; Michael Duncan; Jörg Flecker; Paul Malschinger; Veronika Wöhrer. 1. ed. Göttingen: V&R unipress, Vienna University Press, 2026. p. 149-170.

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter › Peer Reviewed

Making critical raw materials from a multi-scalar perspective: The case of lithium in the European Union. / Eyselein, Gabriel; Dorn, Felix Malte.
In: Geoforum, 12.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Not so ephemeral after all. Longitudinal associations between emerging adults’ engagement with ephemeral social media features, production stress, and social capital. / Forrai, Michaela; Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Cyberpsychology : Journal of Psychological Research in Cyberspace, Vol. 19, No. 5, 1, 24.11.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

„Nomen est omen“: Was Namen mit Vorurteil und Diskriminierung zu tun haben. Holzinger, Clara (Interviewee). 2025. Ö1 Moment.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Young Adults’ Folk Theories in a Fragmented Journalistic Environment. The Case of Italy. / Garusi, Diego; Splendore, Sergio .
In: Journalism Practice, 16.11.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

„Dein Akzent passt nicht ins Büro“: Citizen Science gegen blinde Flecken. Holzinger, Clara (Interviewee); Draxl, Anna-Katharina (Interviewee). 2025.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Predicting the intention to use generative AI for health information: Comparative survey model. / Matthes, Jörg; Reinhardt, Anne; Hodzic, Selma et al.
In: Journal of Medical Internet Research, 11.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Who trusts AI for health information? A cross-national survey on trust determinants in four European countries. / Reinhardt, Anne; Matthes, Jörg; Hodzic, Selma et al.
In: Health Communication, 11.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

An Agent-Based Model of Online Protest and Repression in Authoritarian Settings. / Kulichkina, Aytalina; Waldherr, Annie; Wijermans, Nanda.
Advances in Social Simulation. Springer, 2025. p. 305-319.

Publications: Contribution to book › Contribution to proceedings › Peer Reviewed

From sparks to action: The role of political influencers for young adults' political efficacy and political participation in Austria, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Serbia. / Munzir, Atika Aisyarahmi; Neureiter, Ariadne; Matthes, Jörg et al.
In: Frontiers in Political Science, Vol. 7, 1620631, 16.10.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

It's true, but still harmful: Examining the effects of overgeneralized health messages by social media influencers using two pre-registered experiments. / Kanková, Jaroslava; Binder, Alice; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Journal of health communication : international perspectives, 09.10.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Autonomy, objectivity, and transparency: The meaning and negotiation of journalistic values across different journalistic beats. / Maares, Phoebe; Löhmann, Kim Dana; Hanusch, Folker et al.
In: International Journal of Press/Politics, 01.10.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Does social media use make us more environmentally knowledgeable or more eco-anxious? A multi-country investigation. / Matthes, Jörg; Neureiter, Ariadne; Kirchmair, Thomas et al.
In: Online Media and Global Communication, Vol. 4, No. 3, 01.10.2025, p. 387-409.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Discursive consequences of social media hostility: Chilling effects, avoidance, and intervention behaviors of emerging adults in the U.S. and Indonesia. / Matthes, Jörg (Corresponding author); Nguyen, Phung Quynh Giao; Koban, Kevin et al.
In: Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 171, 108704, 10.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Showing entries 1 - 20 out of 105