DReMSS Sessions

Farewell to the Methods and Research Meetings → Welcome to the DReMSS Sessions!

After many years of stimulating exchanges in the Methods and Research Meetings, we are excited to launch their successor: the DReMSS Sessions. This new series builds on the same spirit of methodological exchange and innovation, but with a refreshed format and broader scope.

The Developments in Research and Methods in the Social Sciences (DReMSS) Platform coordinates and showcases research collaborations between the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (SSP) at the University of Lausanne and FORS, the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences. A key empirical strand of this joint research programme is centred around survey methods and methodological innovations linked to quantitative social science data collection and analysis.

The DReMSS Sessions bring together researchers to share cutting-edge methodological developments, tackle survey and data analysis challenges, and learn from leading experts in the field.

The sessions take one of three formats:

Webinars

Twice per semester, researchers affiliated to the DReMSS platform and FORS will present the results of recent methodological research or demonstrate analytic methods using specific datasets in a webinar format, providing an opportunity to showcase our work to a broader, international audience.

Survey surgery

Do you need help with survey design or data analysis challenges? Would you like input on the design of methodological research linked to your survey or with analyses? Once a semester, we will meet to discuss specific methodological challenges in our work, providing an opportunity for survey researchers to consult and get feedback on work-in-progress, and to share expertise.

Expert workshops

Once a semester, we invite you to join DReMSS members for an in-depth skills refresh with leading experts in methodological developments currently impacting survey practice;

Calendar 

Session Dates Planned Sessions
Monday 15 September 2025 (13.00–14.00) Webinar (online)
Monday 20 October 2025 (13.00–15.00) Survey Surgery (room 5621 Géopolis)
Monday 17 November 2025 (13.00–14.00) Webinar (online)
Monday 15 December 2025 (13.00–16.00) Expert Workshop (room 5621 Géopolis)
Monday 23 February 2026 (13.00–14.00) Webinar (online)
Monday 23 March 2026 (13.00–15.00) Survey Surgery (room 5621 Géopolis)
Monday 20 April 2026 (13.00–14.00) Webinar (online)
Monday 18 May 2026 (13.00–16.00) Expert Workshop (room 5621 Géopolis)

How to get involved

Call for Webinar Presenters
We invite contributions to the DReMSS Sessions webinar series. If you are interested in presenting the results of recent methodological research in one of our webinars, you can sign up by picking one or more of the available dates via the Doodle link below:

https://doodle.com/group-poll/participate/eVnRnBze

Call for Survey Surgery Participants
If you would like to contribute to a DReMSS Survey Surgery session, please sign up via the Doodle link below. Surgery participants will be asked to plan a brief presentation (10 minutes max.) to pitch their current research challenge/ idea and the main questions on which they would like feedback. We hope to include up to 4 presentations per session.

https://doodle.com/sign-up-sheet/participate/ba87d1f0-4d1c-4075-9cb4-e9c74dadb27d/select

DReMSS Session Recordings

Missed a session? You can now watch the recordings of past DReMSS Sessions below:
Rethinking Gender Measures in Population Surveys (Roxane Mordasini and Stephanie Steinmetz), September 15, 2025
https://rec.unil.ch/videos/dremss-webinar-on-rethinking-gender-measures-in-population-surveys/

 

Save the date! 

We are pleased to announce that the first Expert Workshop will take place on Monday 15 December 2025 from 13.00-16.00:

Integrating Large Language Models in Questionnaire Design, Evaluation and Testing
by Tom Robinson & Patrick Sturgis (Department of Methodology, London School of Economics and Political Science) and Caroline Roberts (DReMSS).

 

The organisers

Caroline Roberts
Oliver Lipps
Stephanie Steinmetz
Marc Asensio Manjon

Previous Methods and Research Meetings