Publications

Reusing research data is an important part of research practice in the social and economic sciences. To find suitable data, researchers need functional search options. However, a comprehensive search for data is hampered by inconsistent or missing semantic indexing because different survey programs use their own terminology for documentation. In most cases, there is no link between the measured theoretical concepts and the variables. From the user's perspective, the fragmentation of data documentation hampers data retrieval and thus limits the research potential of existing data. The challenge, therefore, lies in the concept-oriented indexing of data. [...] Full Abstract: https://zenodo.org/records/11047523

In the Dutch academic system, PhD theses can be awarded with cum laude and at most 5% of all PhD graduates receive this selective distinction for their thesis. In this paper, we investigate whether there is gender bias in awarding cum laude, using data from one of the major Dutch research universities. A main result is that the set of PhD theses receiving cum laude on average do not have a higher quality than the best theses not getting cum laude. A second main result is that, after controlling for the quality of the PhD theses, women still have a substantially lower probability to receive cum laude. These results strongly suggest that the distribution of awards suffers from gender bias.

"The Student Survey in Germany" (2021) is a newly designed study that integrates three previously separate student surveys (Beuße et al., 2022): the Social Survey (Middendorff et al., 2017; Middendorff & Wallis, 2023), the Student Survey (Multrus et al., 2017; Multrus, 2021) and the survey "best - Studying with impairments" (Poskowsky et al., 2018; Unger et al., 2012). The study is designed as a cross-sectional survey with a long-term character. The new, integrated student survey thus continues the long tradition of the Social Survey and the Student Survey as important cross-sectional long-term observation studies for describing and analysing higher education and the student [...] Full Abstract: https://doi.org/10.21249/DZHW:sid2021:1.0.0

he project "VORAUS: Further developing established quality assurance formats: Which VORreservations and consensuses does a partially randomised SELECTION of research projects encounter in the scientific field?" was funded by the BMBF from April 2019 to March 2022. The study investigated reservations and consensus in the scientific field regarding partial randomisation. On this basis, it was clarified what is currently considered appropriate in science. Prior to a quantitative survey on the topic, the data from which is also available as a data package (DOI: https://doi.org/10.21249/DZHW:vorausquanti:1.0.0), problem-centred interviews were conducted with [...] Full Abstract: https://doi.org/10.21249/DZHW:vorausquali:1.0.0

Research funding systems are not isolated systems - but embedded in a larger scientific system with an enormous influence on the system. This paper aims to analyze the allocation of competitive research funding from different perspectives: How reliable are decision processes for funding? What are the economic costs of competitive funding? How does competition for funds affect doing risky research? How do competitive funding environments affect scientists themselves, and which ethical issues must be considered? We attempt to identify gaps in our knowledge and propose recommendations for policymakers and funding agencies, including empirical experiments of decision processes and collection of data on these processes.

Host country education can be crucial for the social integration as well as labour market outcomes of refugees and asylum seekers. To meet the same admission criteria for studying at German higher education institutions (HEI) as other international student applicants, refugees and asylum seekers can attend pre-study programmes at preparatory colleges or language centres of HEI. According to the self-determination theory, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs is relevant to learning motivation and success in educational contexts. This paper examines the differences in the satisfaction of basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and learning motivation between refugees and other international student applicants, and the ext