230015 UE Methods of Empirical Social Research (2017S)

In the course of two semesters different aspects of volunteering will be empirically researched in the context of municipal housing in the City of Vienna ("Gemeindebauten"). Following the thesis that volunteering fosters social capital, for example in the forms of integration, networking and community building, it is assumed that its promotion can facilitate trust and solidarity in a neighborhood consisting of heterogeneous residential groups. Questions of interest discussed in international research concern the effects of sociodemographic features on participation, as well as its potential to compensate for deficits in the welfare system.
The research will be realized in cooperation with "wohnpartner", an institution of Wohnservice Wien. Possible research questions concern needs and motives of (potentially) volunteering residents, as well as their response to institutional support of neighborhood help and volunteering.