In December 2023, APSA’s Middle East and North Africa Program launched a research methods training initiative for early-career scholars from the Arab MENA region. Unlike short-term trainings that concludes after a few days of instruction, APSA’s program combines intensive in-person instruction with a range of extended engagements, and features skill-building activities closely linked to research outputs.

The inaugural program, titled “Quantitative Methods for the Social Sciences: Regression Analysis,” was held at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies, in partnership with the Arab Political Science Network (APSN). Led by Drs. Abdelkarim Amengay (Doha Institute), Sarah Mansour (Cairo University), and Ammar Shamaileh (Doha Institute), the program provided intermediate-level training on understanding and applying quantitative methods in social science research. 22 graduate students and early-career Arab scholars partook in the program, which commenced with three virtual sessions held over Zoom in November 2023. The virtual component served as a refresher-course to regression analysis, with sessions on statistical inference, hypothesis testing, and difference-in-differences.

The three-day in-person workshop in December 2023 delved deeper into regression analysis, covering topics ranging from linear regression, OLS and its Assumptions to, among others, causality and difference-in-differences. Morning lectures were followed by practical, hands-on assignments in the lab, which included instruction on statistical programming in both R and SPSS. Additionally, the program offered designated office hours for fellows to seek feedback and guidance on their research. Participants received a one-year membership to APSA upon completion and were encouraged to apply for the 2024 MENA Mentoring Initiative.

Workshop participants engage in a session on probability and statistical inference led by Dr. Ammar Shamaileh at the Doha Institute

APSA’s MENA Methods Trainings are hosted by universities or research institutions in countries across the MENA region. Each program focuses on a different methodological approach, leveraging the varied interests and expertise of local scholars. Up to 20 graduate students and early-career scholars are invited to attend each program. Scholars are encouraged to apply with a research project in progress that they will discuss at the workshop. Guided by a syllabus of core readings and data tools, fellows engage in small group and full group sessions to explore nuances in research design, data availability and collection, and methodological best practices, including techniques to address the practical challenges facing researchers on the ground. Following their participation, fellows will be prioritized through the MENA Mentoring Initiative to be paired with senior scholar mentors for a period of three to six months, with the goal of advancing a specific scholarly output such as a journal article, book chapter, book project, or dataset.

In May 2024, the next MENA Methods Training, titled “Qualitative Methods for the Social Sciences: Causal Analysis,” will be held in Tangier from May 15-17 in partnership with the Tangier American Legation Museum (TALIM) and the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA).

Funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, APSA’s MENA Program is a multi-year effort to support political science research and networking among early-career scholars across the Arab MENA region. For program news, updates, and additional information, contact menaworkshops@apsanet.org or visit the project website: http://web.apsanet.org/mena/.

Dr. Sarah Mansour (Cairo University) guides fellows through programming exercises during an SPSS lab session

Dr. Ammar Shamaileh and Abdelkarim Amengay lead a statistical programming session on R