Methodology

To answer our research questions, a two-stage mixed-methods design was chosen, which is multi-perspective in nature.

In the first phase of data collection, problem-centered interviews will be conducted with selected chairholders or professors who lead working groups, as well as group discussions with the respective chair/working group teams. In the second phase, all holders of a chair/professorship or professors who head working groups and their scientific staff in the subjects of biology, business administration and mechanical engineering, and sociology/social sciences will be surveyed in status group-specific (online) surveys.

The data analysis extends up to and including the third phase and thus ensures the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for the best possible gain in knowledge.

Project milestones

Phase I

Qualitative study

The project uses a two-stage mixed-methods design. The qualitative research part consists of two phases – conducting individual interviews in the first phase and group discussions in the second phase.

In the 20 problem-centered individual interviews, professors are asked about the organization of their chair/professorship, the preparation of external funding proposals and journal articles, and the peer review of external funding proposals and journal articles, among other topics. The aim is to shed light on aspects such as the support provided by the chair team or the perceived burden of requests for and preparation of peer reviews from an internal perspective. A guideline in the form of an orientation framework was designed to ensure the comparability of the individual interviews.

After the interviews, 15 group discussions with staff members of the chair of the interviewed professors were conducted shortly after. Here, scenarios were created to initiate a discussion among the participants. The research assistants of the project acted as moderators and created an open, natural and communicative atmosphere. The stimuli were designed in such a way that the contributions to the discussion could relate both to participants' own experiences and to theoretical evaluations of the situations described. This gives the participants the opportunity to compare the stimuli with the situations at their department. Within the scenarios, the chair teams are confronted with possible problems and challenges of their daily work.

Phase II

Quantitative study

The first phase of the qualitative study is followed by the quantitative research part. The quantitative study consists of four phases and tests the hypotheses specified in the qualitative research part. For this purpose, an online survey is conducted of all professors and research assistants at German universities where the subjects of mechanical engineering, biology, business administration and sociology are represented.

The quantitative phase starts with the construction of the questionnaire and is programmed in the online environment LimeSurvey. There are two different versions: one version for the professors and one version for the scientific staff.

After the construction and the technical implementation of the questionnaire, a pretest is carried out. Subsequently, all professors and research assistants in the disciplines of mechanical engineering, biology, business administration and sociology at German universities are invited to participate by e-mail. The e-mail addresses will be researched manually.

After completion of the survey, the data will be cleaned and processed for statistical analysis.

First, measurement models are constructed. These are then validated in terms of their dimensionality and reliability using confirmatory factor and reliability analyses. Group comparisons and structural equation modeling are used to examine the effects of faculty organization on research quotients and on the extent of mutual support structure. Multivariate regression analyses will show which directional relationships are present and how strong their effects are.

Phase III

Qualitative und quantitative data analysis

Within the framework of the two-stage mixed methods design, a linkage of both methods takes place in this phase. The mixing refers to both the methodological and the content-related level.

Both partial studies are considered and interpreted together. The scope of the qualitative findings, i.e. the results from the single interviews with the professors in combination with the findings from the group discussions of the chair teams, which go into depth, will be cross-checked with the quantitative results from the online survey of all department chairs and research assistants of the selected subjects.

Phase IV

Dissemination of research results

In this phase, the exploitation and transfer of the findings will be facilitated, with a special focus on three target groups. The research results are to be made accessible to the (1) scientific community through scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals in the field of Higher Education Research and through presentations at meetings and conferences. In addition, talks and presentations are to take place within the framework of the Higher Education Policy Discussion Group. In order to give the group of (2) science policy actors access to the research results, a conference with science policy actors will be organized, which will be followed by the preparation of a workshop documentation in the form of a handout for a broad target audience. Finally, an executive workshop for professors will be held in order to make the research results accessible to (3) professors. The focus of the workshop will be on the transfer of the research results into actionable and practical recommendations.

By car

By public transport

The H-Bahn (Suspended Monorail System)

By plane