Participant Information

OVERVIEW

We look forward to welcoming you to Syracuse University for the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) 2025!

Please review carefully the information included on this page. Email Sebastian Karcher (skarcher@syr.edu) with any questions you have.

You will arrive in Syracuse on Saturday June 14, and IQMR will commence on Sunday June 15. There will be a one-day break on June 19 (“Juneteenth”), and a two-day break on June 21 and 22. No classes are scheduled on these days and students are free to make their own arrangements. We will offer a special event in the evening on June 19. After the weekend break, IQMR will continue on the morning of Monday June 23 and run until late afternoon on Friday June 27. You will depart late afternoon or evening on Friday, or on Saturday June 28.

Excluding break days (June 19, 21, and 22), the Institute will run full time from early morning on Sunday June 15 until 5:00pm on Friday June 27. Except for illness or other type of emergency, you are expected to attend all Institute sessions. We – and your fellow participants – will arrange multiple extracurricular sessions and activities. These may draw everyone together, or gather participants interested in a particular region or research technique, for instance. We strongly encourage you to partake in these activities, network, and capitalize on all that IQMR has to offer!

PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITIES

This table outlines your main responsibilities as an IQMR participant. Please carry out your responsibilities and provide requested information in a timely manner. Your doing so will help the Institute run as smoothly as possible.

CHOOSING WHICH MODULES TO TAKE

A typical instructional day at IQMR comprises three 90-minute instructional sessions focused on a particular topic (a “module”) (as well as breaks and a research design discussion group session, outlined below). On most days, participants choose one from among four modules (e.g., process tracing, different fieldwork techniques, or text as data). Thus for the nine instructional days (excluding the first Sunday), participants will select nine modules to take from the 36 offered. More information on how to choose which modules to take.

MODULE PREREQUISITES

Some of IQMR’s modules require participants to have basic familiarity with R or python. This requirement helps to ensure that the modules are maximally useful for everyone, focusing on methods and techniques, and not basic instruction in how to use the software. More about module prerequisites to come.

SUPPORTING MATERIALS – READINGS AND MORE

It is very important that you do as much of the required reading as possible before the Institute, leaving yourself time to network, interact with faculty and colleagues, socialize, relax, and enjoy your down time when you are at IQMR. More about readings and accessing readings on Zotero.

RESEARCH DESIGN DISCUSSION GROUP SESSIONS

Presenting a research design for discussion at IQMR is required. Institute participants routinely highlight the feedback they receive in such sessions as one of the most valuable aspects of IQMR. You can review instructions for preparing the research design here. More about presenting your research design and commenting on others’ research designs.

SU ID NUMBER and SU NetID

Syracuse University will provide you with two different unique identifiers: your SU ID number (noted on your SU ID card), and your SU NetID. Your SU ID card gives you access to various locations and services such as the gym, library, and other SU facilities. Your SU NetID allows you access to Syracuse University’s digital resources (such as online journals).

You will need to register in order to get an SU ID number and an SU NetID. We will send you more information on how to register in April.

You will receive your personal SU ID number and SU NetID shortly after you register. You will receive your SU ID card after you arrive at IQMR.

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

Syracuse University is a private research university located in the heart of New York State. The university is home to approximately 15,000 undergraduate students and 7,000 graduate students. Students can choose from more than 200 majors, 100 minors, and 200 advanced degree programs across the university’s 13 schools and colleges. The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, IQMR’s home at Syracuse, has repeatedly been ranked as the best school of public affairs in the United States.

More on internet access, printing, Institute classroom, library facilities, the Syracuse University Student Center, and gyms.

LODGING: MILTON HALL

All IQMR attendees will stay in two or four-bedroom suites in Milton Hall, a modern dormitory on the Syracuse University campus. More about Milton Hall, accessing it, and its rules and amenities.

COMMUNICATIONS

While you are in Syracuse, we will communicate with you via email and a chat app to be determined.

GETTING TO SYRACUSE

Syracuse is located approximately 250 miles northwest of New York City.

Many IQMR participants will be flying to Syracuse, arriving at Syracuse Hancock International Airport (http://www.syrairport.org/). The airport has a single terminal divided into separate concourses. The airport is about 10 miles (15-minute drive) from the university. Other IQMR participants will be arriving in Syracuse by Greyhound bus or Amtrak train.

All IQMR participants nominated by their home department are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and paying for their own travel, as are participants selected through the general open pool. Christiane Page, Associate Director of the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry at Syracuse (cmpage@syr.edu), will be in touch with all IQMR participants selected through “Open Pool” application process for Africa and Latin America concerning travel. Open Pool participants from the MENA region will make travel arrangements via the American Political Science Association (APSA).

IQMR will arrange for a shuttle bus to run from the airport, and from the train and bus stations, to Milton Hall on Saturday June 14. We will add contact details and hours of operation for the residence hall shuttle bus closer to the institute.

PARKING

Guests arriving by car should drive directly to Milton Hall, use street parking, and get your ID. You can then use your ID to swipe in and out of parking. You will park at the University Garage, 1101 East Adams Street, Syracuse, 13210.

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION

For travel around the campus and to points of interest in Syracuse, you can use the Centro bus service. Some buses are free to SU ID holders, otherwise bus fares in Syracuse are listed on the Centro homepage. There is a mobile phone app for the Centro bus service which includes a bus tracker and travel planner. Syracuse also has a popular e-scooter program through the Veo app. You can find scooters all around the university neighborhood and downtown, but they are not allowed (and will turn off) on campus.

FOOD

Breakfast is provided for you on all instructional days in the Maxwell Commons (2nd floor of Eggers Hall).

We also provide twice-daily coffee breaks with complimentary tea/coffee and light refreshments

On each instructional day, you are on your own for lunch and dinner; there are a variety of venues nearby the Syracuse University campus.

There will be a few organized lunches focusing on particular regions or topics that will be announced once the Institute starts. There will also be an organized complimentary dinner on Monday, June 16, time and location TBD, as well as a closing reception on Thursday, June 26, in the Maxwell Foyer.

ATTIRE

Dress is casual. Please wear what you would wear in a classroom in your home institution. Jeans and shorts are fine. The weather is likely to be mild, but you should bring some warm clothes as well in case we have a cold snap, as well as an umbrella and/or a light raincoat.

HEALTH

What to do if you get sick. (to come)

MEDICAL INSURANCE

Visitors from abroad are strongly encouraged to check with their home institutions to determine whether they will be covered for any medical costs and expenses they may incur should they fall ill or have an accident while in the United States. If not, you are strongly encouraged to purchase health insurance in your home country that will cover you in the United States for the complete duration of your stay in the event of illness or injury. Medical care in the United States is expensive, and we recommend that you secure health insurance coverage to protect against exorbitant costs.

Visitors from U.S. universities should check with their health offices to ensure you are covered when away from campus and in June, and to make sure you have necessary paperwork to evidence that coverage. If you are not covered, we again strongly encourage you to purchase insurance for your time in Syracuse.