2nd MethodsNET Conference

The global hub for research methods innovations, excellence and smart  use.

10-12 September 2025, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

The conference’s overall agenda is both about reflecting together (experts/developers and users) on emerging methodological topics and innovations, AND about enabling the smart (sharp and robust) exploitation of existing research methods by methods users, in particular by providing them with diverse types of training sessions and with feedback on their work-in-progress.

‘A bottom up approach, open to all topics’
Given the sheer diversity of methodologies, methods and techniques available across the human sciences, we welcome proposals on any methods-related topic. The regular panels also welcome empirical application papers – across the whole span of research methods. Across all session types we are interested in topics such as the following . NB: this is by no means a limited list, as the conference is fully open to proposals around the very diverse topics and debates that are constantly (re)shaping research methods.

• AI Driven Methods: Agent-based/multi-agent systems, zero-shot/few-shot transfer learning, reinforcement learning, online and continual learning, explainable and interpretable AI, edge AI, AI ethics, reproducibility and FAIRness in AI, generative AI, the application of AI driven methods in human sciences, etc.
• New approaches in qualitative methods: Feminist, indigenous and decolonial methodologies, creative and arts-based methods, practice as research, visual research, etc. 
• Towards a fairer research practice: relational and care-centric methods, participatory, community-based and community-centric methods, research ethics and design, etc.
• New ways to bridge/combine research methods: emerging mixed-and-multimethod designs, bridging qualitative research and computer-intensive methods, connecting field research with online methods, connecting qualitative research with computational methods, exploiting both qualitative and quantitative data for SNA, incorporating reflexivity into quantitative-oriented research, etc.
• Methods toolboxes for applied and policy-oriented research: evaluation methods, bench marking methods, methods for prospective research and scenario-building/simulations, co-design and citizen science, participatory methods with stakeholders’ involvement, etc.
• Teaching research methods: Pedagogical challenges and approaches, innovations in methods training, pedagogy of research ethics, etc.

‘Diverse session formats to meet YOUR specific needs’
The conference’s uniquely rich program features 11 types of sessions. Each session type is designed to meet specific needs of respective target audiences:

• Regular panels 
• Participatory sessions 
• Training sessions, offered by experts/developers (both established and early career)
  • Short training sessions
  • Demonstration sessions
  • Methods labs
• ‘Meet the expert’ speed dating session
• MethodsNET Communities’ networking & brainstorming session
• Book launch sessions (TBC)
• Plenary sessions, including welcome plenary session, opening roundtable , 2 keynote lectures  and concluding plenary session

Modes of participation: In-person and remote/hybrid.
Depending on the session, some sessions will be held in-person only, or in-person and hybrid format. Please see participation type for each session. If at least one paper presenter is remote, the Panel will offer remote participation.  For all panels, the panel chair must attend in-person. Remote participants will be granted access to all hybrid sessions. We will do our best to consider time zone differences for the placement of hybrid sessions in the timetable. NB: there will not be remote only sessions. Participation can be either in-person or remote but not both.

The conference is principally held in-person, and its schedule is designed to enable dense in-person networking among the participants that are on-site at the conference. 

Proceeding Editors

Subjects

• Behavioral Research
• Teaching method
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative analysis
• Computational science