Stefano Sbalchiero (PhD in Sociology, 2010) is a researcher (RtdB) and assistant professor at the University of Padova, where he teaches "Social Research Methods," with a particular focus on quantitative analysis. He has held visiting fellowships at Boston University, MA, USA (2023), and the Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Methodology, Kraków, Poland (2018), specializing in quantitative methods, text mining approaches, and topic modeling.

Sbalchiero has been actively involved in various research projects, exploring topics such as spirituality of scientists, scientists' mobility, youth and spirituality, the history of sociology, and policy analysis. He is currently a member of several national and international research groups and initiatives.

His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed academic journals, including Quality and Quantity, Religions, International Migration, Sociology of Religion and Policy & Society. He has also presented at prominent national and international conferences, such as the American Sociological Association (ASA), the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR), the International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP), and the International Conference on Statistical Analysis of Textual Data (JADT). The idea of being an "interdisciplinary bridge maker" serves as a central theme and defining keyword for most of his research endeavors.

Research interests: 

• Social research methods

• Text mining approaches 

• Religion and spirituality 

• Science and spirituality

• Interreligious dialogue