230086 FPR Research Practice 2: Poverty in Vienna - Life on Welfare (2023S)

Social welfare (AUT: Mindestsicherung) is the final safety net of the Austrian welfare state. People in social welfare have experienced a long pathway through institutions and for most this status implies strong restrictions in social participation. The goal of the course is to learn about the life situation, the wishes and hopes, and the subjective perception of the possibilities for participation and to reflect these findings against the backdrop of theories of the welfare state.

The goal of the research laboratory is to get acquainted with the complete process of scientific work, starting from the theoretical research question via the collection of the state of the art and the development of an own theoretical argument, out of which expectations (hypotheses) are derived, up to the elaboration of a research instrument, the implementation of data collection, data analysis and the empirical results.

In the first semester we will read theories of the welfare state and of poverty, discuss theoretical arguments and develop research questions and derive hypotheses. In the second semester participants will contribute to the collection of quantitative and qualitative data on the life situation of people on social welfare, using a questionnaire and an interview guide. Data collection will be done in cooperation with the City of Vienna (MA40, Social Affairs, Social and Health Law). The participants will then analyze the collected data and write their report. If possible the reports will be presented at the end at a workshop with representatives of the City of Vienna.