Former Erasmus School of Economics PhD candidate Max Welz has won the Psychometric Society Dissertation Prize for his thesis on robust statistical methods for detecting low-quality categorical data.
Welz’ research shows that even a small amount of low-quality responses in categorical data, such as survey answers, can distort statistical results. ‘Imagine doing a survey. These can be quite lengthy and you start losing interest,’ he explains. Just 5% of such low-quality responses can distort common analyses. Welz developed new statistical tools that are robust and can flag unreliable answers, helping researchers draw more trustworthy conclusions.
The Psychometric Society Dissertation Prize
The Psychometric Society Dissertation Prize recognises an outstanding PhD dissertation each year, written in any field covered by the journal Psychometrika. Welz is invited to present his dissertation, who he successfully defended in 2025, at the International Meeting of the Psychometric Society in Seoul in July 2026. He will also be invited to submit a paper based on his thesis to Psychometrika, and he has won a monetary prize of $500.
‘I found out as I had just returned from a long run at the start of my work day, and was checking my e-mail while still wearing my sweaty clothes,’ he tells, laughing. ‘I felt quite some pride and a sense of accomplishment that day, but I was also very humbled.’
Welz emphasises the supporting role of Erasmus School of Economics and the Econometric Institute in the development of his dissertation. ‘I could not have asked for a better place to do a PhD, and I really mean that,’ he says. He explains that PhD candidates are really taken seriously and that this is reflected in the quality of the work produced: ‘I would like to thank my supervisors. Andreas Alfons always put a lot of faith in me, and Patrick Groenen, being the dean, always made time to give in-depth feedback.’
Max Welz is now working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich.
- More information
Find Max Welz’ dissertation, “Robust categorical data analysis”, here.
For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Media and Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Economics, rdegroot@ese.eur.nl, or +31 6 53 641 846.
