PhD Days ELSxVSR (2026)

PhD Days ELSxVSR (2026)

Welcome to the PhD Days ELSxVSR (2026) event! Join us at Erasmus University Rotterdam for a gathering of brilliant minds in the field of research. This in-person event is a fantastic opportunity to network, share ideas, and learn from fellow PhD candidates. Dive into engaging discussions, attend insightful workshops, and expand your knowledge in a vibrant academic setting. Don't miss out on this enriching experience!

The ticket price is €75 (excluding VAT).

Discount for SLSA-members: Members of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) receive a 20% discount (€60 excluding VAT). Please note that SLSA-members should not register via Eventbrite, but instead register by emailing [email protected]

Info: The keynote speaker will be Wibren van der Burg, professor of Legal Philosophy and Jurisprudence at the Erasmus School of Law. He expanded his own horizons through interdisciplinary research, research stays and teaching abroad, and switching between topics and different subfields of law and ethics. He will discuss both the benefits and costs of such a career. The main theme of his lecture will be how researchers can expand their horizons in their research and what this implies for research designs and methodologies.

Info: Although it is perhaps the most important step in the empirical research cycle, the literature on conducting empirical research devotes little attention to the research question. In this session, presentations on formulating an academically relevant research question and positioning it in a paradigmatic field will be followed by exercises in which you can apply the content to your own Ph.D. Study.

Info: This workshop provides an introduction and overview of interviewing as a form of qualitative research. We will first discuss the different kinds of interviewing techniques. We will then discuss the preparations that go into conducting a good interview, including how to design an interview guide. We will also discuss various challenges of interviewing, including how to build trust and rapport with respondents, talk about difficult or sensitive topics, and deal with difficult interview situations. Finally, we will discuss ethical dilemmas and your own positionality and social responsibility while conducting interviews.

Info: Turn your research into a clear and engaging visual story! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to design research infographics and posters using Piktochart. Merel will cover basic design principles (such as layout, colours, and clarity) and guide you step-by-step in creating your own visual. No prior design experience needed; just bring your research idea and creativity!

Info: In this workshop, Dr. Aylin Aydin-Cakir will guide students through the process of designing a survey tailored to a specific research purpose. Participants will begin by exploring the key issues of conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement and will learn how to develop valid and reliable survey questions. The workshop will also introduce participants to different types of survey and sampling methods enabling them to select approaches that best align with their research objectives. In addition, it will address key issues in questionnaire design and cover techniques for testing and improving the quality of questionnaires.

Info: This workshop builds on the basics of qualitative interviewing and discusses how to translate interviews into qualitative findings. Topics include data analysis strategies (such as: working with a code book, thematic analysis) translating qualitative research into journal publications. Anne will discuss strategies for ensuring rigor and credibility in data collection and analysis. Participants will discuss during the workshop, based on their research design or research that they already conducted, whether these findings can be generalized and how they could be presented in a publication.

Info: This workshop offers researchers a safe environment to practice their presentation skills in front of a limited audience. Not only does this workshop provide you with the opportunity to get feedback on the way you present your research, you also have the chance to discuss certain issues you encounter in your research with academics and get their views on it.

Info: Experiments allow researchers to isolate causal effects and understand how people behave, perceive, and interpret situations in legal contexts. This workshop introduces key experimental designs for empirical legal research (field, lab & vignette experiments), showing how the can be used to uncover the mechanisms behind law in action.

Info: This workshop offers researchers a safe environment to practice their presentation skills in front of a limited audience. Not only does this workshop provide you with the opportunity to get feedback on the way you present your research, you also have the chance to discuss certain issues you encounter in your research with academics and get their views on it.

Info: TBA: more information will follow shortly!

Info: Feminist and queer approaches have significantly shaped international legal scholarship, but in continental European contexts accessible methodological tools are still lacking. This workshop aims to offer a toolbox that enables researchers to critically interrogate the dominant norms of legal scholarship and to explore new ways of producing knowledge, taking into account feminist and queer perspectives. In doing so, the workshop aspires to open up space for imagination, transformation, and resistance, inviting us to see law not merely as an instrument of power but as a field that can be collectively and critically rewritten.

Info: Law and Political Economy and Critical Legal Studies are two methodological interdisciplinary approaches to studying law. Further information will follow.

Info: How do you make sure your research resonates with audiences outside academia? This interactive workshop explores strategies for effectively communicating your research to diverse publics, from policymakers and practitioners to journalists and the wider society. In this workshop, you will learn and practice how to tailor your message to different audiences, how to convey complex findings in accessible and engaging ways, and what to consider when interacting with the media.

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