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Alexander Wenz

Postdoctoral Researcher in
Statistics and Methodology

University of Mannheim

Welcome to my website.

I’m a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Professorship for Statistics and Methodology at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim.

I’m also affiliated with the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), the International Program in Survey and Data Science (IPSDS), the Collaborative Research Center SFB 884 Political Economy of Reforms at the University of Mannheim, and the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex. I currently serve as Committee Member of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA).

I’m interested in topics related to survey methodology, social data science, and digital sociology. In my current research, I examine the data quality of novel data collection methods used in empirical social research, with a focus on (mobile) web surveys, passive measurement with smartphone apps and wearable sensors, and linkage of survey and social media data.

Education

  • Ph.D. Survey Methodology, 2018

    University of Essex

  • B.A. Politics and Public Administration, 2014

    University of Konstanz

Selected Publications

See CV for complete list of publications

Wenz, A., Jäckle, A., Burton, J., & Couper, M. P. (2022). The effects of personalized feedback on participation and reporting in mobile app data collection. Social Science Computer Review, 40(1), 165-178.

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Jäckle, A., Wenz, A., Burton, J., & Couper, M. P. (2022). Increasing participation in a mobile app study: The effects of a sequential mixed-mode design and in-interview invitation. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 1-25.

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Keusch, F., Wenz, A., & Conrad, F. G. (2022). Do you have your smartphone with you? Behavioral barriers for measuring everyday activities with smartphone sensors. Computers in Human Behavior, 127, 107054.

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Wenz, A. (2021). Do distractions during web survey completion affect data quality? Findings from a laboratory experiment. Social Science Computer Review, 39(1), 148-161.

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Wenz, A., Al Baghal, T., & Gaia, A. (2021). Language proficiency among respondents: Implications for data quality in a longitudinal face-to-face survey. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 9(1), 73-93.

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Blom, A. G., Wenz, A., Cornesse, C., Rettig, T., Fikel, M., Friedel, S., Möhring, K., Naumann, E., Reifenscheid, M., & Krieger, U. (2021). Barriers to the large-scale adoption of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Germany: Survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(3), e23362.

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Al Baghal, T., Wenz, A., Sloan, L., & Jessop, C. (2021). Linking Twitter and survey data: Asymmetry in quantity and its impact. EPJ Data Science, 10, 1-20.

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Bach, R. L., & Wenz, A. (2020). Studying health-related internet and mobile device use using web logs and smartphone records. PLoS ONE 15(6), e0234663.

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Cornesse, C., Blom, A. G., Dutwin, D., Krosnick, J. A., de Leeuw, E. D., Legleye, S., Pasek, J., Pennay, D., Phillips, B., Sakshaug, J. W., Struminskaya, B., & Wenz, A. (2020). A review of conceptual approaches and empirical evidence on probability and nonprobability sample survey research. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 8(1), 4-36.

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Wenz, A., Jäckle, A., & Couper, M. P. (2019). Willingness to use mobile technologies for data collection in a probability household panel. Survey Research Methods, 13(1), 1-22.

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Teaching

Spring/Summer 2022

Exemplary Empirical Studies (Details)
  • M.A. Seminar
  • University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences
Empirical Research Practicum I (Details)
  • B.A. Seminar
  • University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences

Upcoming Talks

The Second-Level Smartphone Divide: A Typology of Smartphone Usage Based on Frequency of Use, Skills, and Types of Activities
International Communication Association Postconference on Media Sociology, Paris, France
June 1, 2022

How to Increase the Acceptance of Mobile App and Sensor Data Collection?
General Online Research Conference, Berlin, Germany (Program)
September 7-9, 2022

Contact

  • a.wenz (at) uni-mannheim.de
  • +49 (621) 181-2019
  • University of Mannheim
    School of Social Sciences
    A5, 6 | Room B 217
    68131 Mannheim, Germany