Study title

The German part of the project ´Academic Profession in Knowledge Societies (APIKS)´ is part of an international comparative study of working conditions in science and the attitudes of scientists. The mixed-mode survey (CAWI/Paper-and-Pencil), which took place in winter 2017/18, was conducted for the third time. Similar surveys were conducted in 1992 (Carnegie Study) and 2007/2008 (The Changing Academic Profession; CAP). The project involves research teams from more than 30 countries organised as an APIKS consortium (including Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Finland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey and the USA). For the German study, a stratified random sample of 24 higher education institutions was drawn, including 12 universities of applied sciences and 12 universities. The sample takes into account a regional distribution and differences in the size of HEIs. The organisational variables are not part of the scientific-use file due to anonymisation. The German sub-study of the APIKS project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (funding code M522200). The APIKS survey has two objectives. Firstly, the working conditions and attitudes of academics (professors and academic staff) at public universities are to be identified with a focus on research, teaching and university governance, including academic self-administration. Secondly, with the supplementary block of questions on knowledge and technology transfer, a current topic area on the so-called ´third mission´ or social relevance is added to the survey. The questions on knowledge and technology transfer activities are not limited to classic fields such as spin-offs and licences, but also include teaching and voluntary work. In addition, the German sub-study was expanded to include a block of questions on "Supervision practices in the doctoral phase". This short study asks...