Student participation in the research process – CamforS project
Involving students in research projects – RSF funds of the University of Ljubljana
ABOUT THE PROJECT
STAFF
PARTNERS
EVENTS
RESULTS
Project CamforS (Campaigning for Strasbourg) The CamforS (Campaigning for Strasbourg) project is an international research initiative involving 22 EU Member States, which examined political communication strategies on social media during the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections. The research focuses on the communication of political parties and their leading candidates on the Facebook platform in the final four weeks before the elections. The analysis is based on a systematic quantitative examination of posts, enabling comprehensive coverage of multimodal political communication, including text, photos, videos, and other visual elements. The Centre for Political Science Research at the University of Ljubljana FDV is participating in the project, with its involvement co-financed by the Political Science Research programme group (leader: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Meta Novak). In the analysis process, human coding identifies a set of key dimensions of digital political communication, including the type and characteristics of visual elements (photos, videos, graphics), the topic and context of posts, the personalisation of political actors, the presence of various political actors and supporters, the use of symbols and gestures, mobilisation calls to voters (such as calls to share, comment, or attend events), and elements of populist or illiberal rhetoric in political communication. This approach enables comparative analysis of the communication strategies of political parties and contributes to a better understanding of the role of social networks in contemporary election campaigns, which will be utilised in a research project with students.
Tasks of the student research group (5 students from UL involved):
Coding key dimensions of digital political communication according to the CamforS project protocol in Slovenia (with emphasis on elements of populist or illiberal rhetoric in political communication)
Quantitative data analysis
Final presentation of the student research group within the study programme "Comparative Public Policy and Administration" to other colleagues in the programme
Tasks of the research tutor:
Introducing students to the project
Presenting the protocol and coding techniques
Presenting the data analysis method
Duration: 1 May 2026 – 31 August 2026
Budget from the RSF of the University of Ljubljana (2026): EUR 1,300.00
Tomaž Deželan
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences
