Dr. Torger Möller studied sociology, computer science, medical sociology, and economics at the universities of Marburg and Hamburg. He received his doctorate from the Institute for Science and Technology Studies at Bielefeld University, where he also worked as a doctoral fellow in a DFG research training group and as a researcher from 1999 to 2003. The key findings of his doctoral thesis were awarded the second prize of the Young Scholar Award of the Institute for Humanity, Ethics, and Science. From 2003 to the end of 2007, he worked as a researcher at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in the BMBF funding initiative "Knowledge for Decision-Making Processes - Research on the Relationship between Science, Politics, and Society". During this time, Dr. Möller taught courses at Charité - University Medicine Berlin. In 2008, he joined the Risk Communication Department of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. From 2009 to 2011, he worked at the Center for Cluster Development at Freie Universität Berlin as part of the Excellence Initiative. Since April 2011, Dr. Möller has been working as a senior researcher and project leader at the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW, until 2015 Institute for Research Information and Quality Assurance, iFQ). Between 2013 and 2015, he held the position of data protection officer, and from 2020 to 2022 he was acting head of Department 2 "Research System and Science Dynamics" at the Berlin branch of the DZHW. Since 2025, he has been conducting research at the Hanover branch in Department 3 "Governance in Higher Education and Science".
Dr. Torger Möller
Research Area Governance in Higher Education and Science
Researcher
- +49 511 450670-327
Academic research fields
Governance of science, research funding and evaluation, academic careers, and gender inequalities in the academic system
List of projects
List of publications
Determinants of cognitive mobility.Mom, C., Möller, T., & van den Besselaar, P. (2023).Determinants of cognitive mobility. In ISSI (Hrsg.), Proceedings of ISSI 2023 - the 19th International Conference of the International Society of Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI 2023). Bloomington, United States: International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8305924 |
Do female academics submit fewer grant applications than men?Möller, T. (2023).Do female academics submit fewer grant applications than men? 27th International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (STI 2023). https://doi.org/10.55835/644303d4b2b5580ba561581a (Abgerufen am: 21.04.2023). https://doi.org/10.55835/644303d4b2b5580ba561581a Abstract
The state of the research on grant application behaviour is that female academics submit fewer proposals than men. This study points out that it is methodologically challenging to draw this conclusion. We know a lot about applicants, but little about the pool of potential applicants as the underlying population. We use a random sample of academics as potential applicants to investigate the grant application activity of male and female researchers. The results show that when an appropriate benchmark is applied (in this case, controlling for academic status and research area), no significant gender differences in grant applications can be found. |
Two Longitudinal Papers Concerning Gender Disparities in Science Careers.Sandström, U., Sandström, E., Mom, C., van den Besselaar, P., & Möller, T. (2022).Two Longitudinal Papers Concerning Gender Disparities in Science Careers. Stockholm, Amsterdam, Berlin: Forskningspolitik Sverige AB, TMC BV, DZHW (nicht zur Veröffentlichung vorgesehen). |
What is researcher independence and how can it be measured?Möller, T., van den Besselaar, P., & Mom, C. (2022).What is researcher independence and how can it be measured? 26th International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (STI 2022), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6975311 |
Factors influencing the academic career – an event history analysis.Mom, C., van den Besselaar, P., & Möller, T. (2022).Factors influencing the academic career – an event history analysis. Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicator (STI 2022), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6975565 |
Identifying gender bias and its causes and effects.van den Besselaar, P., Mom, C., Cruz-Castro, L., Sanz-Menéndez, L., Möller, T., ... & Husu, L. (2020).Identifying gender bias and its causes and effects. Amsterdam: TMC. Abstract
Grant selection and decision-making generally take place in panels. Therefore, the main focus of the project is to measure the level of gender bias at the panel level, and to explain the differences in gender bias using characteristics of the panels and of the (organizational) context of the panels. A second source of gender bias addressed in the project is the application process. The project also investigates the factors influencing the decision to apply for research grants, and the possible gender differences emerging from that. Finally, the question is addressed whether possible bias in grant allocation translates into gender bias in the subsequent academic career. |
The Impact of Research Funding Agencies on the Research Performance of five European Countries. A Funding Acknowledgements Analysis.Möller, T. (2019).The Impact of Research Funding Agencies on the Research Performance of five European Countries. A Funding Acknowledgements Analysis. In Catalano, G., Daraio, C., Gregori, M., Moed, H. F., & Ruocco, G (Hrsg.) Proceedings of the 17th Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI 2019), Vol. 2, (S. 2279-2287). Edizioni Efesto. ISBN 978-88-3381-118-5. |
Same objectives, different governance – How the Excellence Initiative and the Pact for Research and Innovation affect the German science system.Möller, T. (2018).Same objectives, different governance – How the Excellence Initiative and the Pact for Research and Innovation affect the German science system. Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation, 45, 4-8. |
Gut für Projektionen - Was Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler über die Exzellenzinitiative denken.Johann, D., Möller, T., & Neufeld, J. (2016).Gut für Projektionen - Was Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler über die Exzellenzinitiative denken. duz Deutsche Universitätszeitung, 8/2016, 22-23. |
