1. Who is conducting the survey?
2. How was I selected for the survey?
3. What issues are covered by the survey?
4. How is the survey being conducted?
5. Are the responses confidential?
6. How can I opt out of the survey?
7. I can't access the survey. What can I do?
8. What is your ethics policy?
9. How can I follow the results of the survey?
10. I am part time should I be included in the survey?
11. I am Emeritus or Retired should I complete the survey?
12. I am currently without employment should I complete the survey?
1. Who is conducting the survey?
The survey was conducted by researchers at Technische Universität München (TUM), University of Cambridge and the University of Tokyo:
Prof. Dr. Hanna Hottenrott, TUM School of Management, Technische Universität München, Germany
hanna.hottenrott@tum.de
Dr. Cornelia Lawson, University of Bath School of Management & University of Cambridge, UK
c.lawson@bath.ac.uk
Prof. Sotaro Shibayama, University of Tokyo, Science Technology and Innovation Governance Program
shibayama@zzz.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp
The research is supported by the German Science Foundation (DFG) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). A report on the results of this survey is available, free of charge, here.
2. How was I selected for the survey?
Your name was drawn from a random sample of over 15,000 published journal articles in five disciplines (biology, chemistry, engineering, history, economics and management). We selected authors working at universities or research institutes in Germany, Japan and the UK to participate in the survey.
If you are PhD student or currently without a main employer we are still interested in your response. If you are retired but still involved in research on a full- or part-time basis we would still like you to participate. We are also interested if you only work part-time at a university or research institute.
3. What issues are covered by the survey?
The survey is designed to investigate career arrangements and research practises of academic researchers. We are aiming to capture a wide range of career paths and interactions, from research funding, workloads and employer relationships to research collaborations.
In addition, we are aiming to capture ethical issues related to academic career arrangements and research practices. The survey includes an open comment section to capture any additional insights, notes of caution or further comments from respondents about their experience of working in academic research.
4. How is the survey being conducted?
Individual academics are being sent an e-mail invitation by International Science Affiliations (ISA) Survey
5. Are the responses confidential?
Yes - your answers will be treated in the strictest confidence. They will be kept in anonymised form and used for research purposes only. Published findings will only be presented in aggregate form so that no individual response can be identified.
6. How can I opt out of the survey?
If you do not wish to take part, you can opt out of the survey by following the opt-out link at the end of the invitation email. You can also contact our project team at any stage, using the e-mail address science-survey@wi.tum.de, to let us know that you do not wish to take part. We will then remove you from the contacts list at the earliest possible opportunity.
7. I can't access the survey. What can I do?
If you experience any problems in accessing the survey link, please contact our project team at science-survey@wi.tum.de.
8. What is your ethics policy?
We have followed best practice procedures in relation to ethical issues involved in conducting a large-scale web-based survey. In particular:
- Recipients of the survey are provided with full information of the nature of the research project of which the survey is a part.
- Recipients of the survey are provided with full information on the funding sources for the research project, the institutional affiliation of the project team and the names of the principal investigators (Hanna Hottenrott, Cornelia Lawson and Sotaro Shibayama) working on the project.
- All potential respondents are informed about the voluntary nature of their participation in the survey and are offered the choice to opt out of any future correspondence. They are also informed that their responses will be kept in anonymised form and used for academic research purposes only.
- The contact details are stored separately from the survey responses. Should a respondent request that his/her contact details be deleted, this will be done at the earliest possible opportunity.
- While the survey is still active the data are stored on a secure server. The data are password protected and can be accessed by members of the project team only.
- Upon completion of the survey, all data will be removed from the server and kept in anonymised, secure and password protected form.
- The project team will respond to any query from respondents and potential respondents at the earliest possible opportunity.
- Recipients of the survey have access to a list of Frequently Asked Questions.
9. How can I follow the results of the survey?
A summary report of the results based on the survey findings are available, free of charge, on the project website.
10. I am part-time should I be included in the survey?
Yes you should be included so please complete the survey. When asked in the survey to allocate your time between teaching, research etc. please calculate those activities as shares of your part time activity so that they sum to 100%.
11. I am Emeritus or Retired should I complete the survey?
If you are still active in research then please complete the survey. The survey includes a question at the start which allows you to state your retired status.
12. I am currently without employment should I complete the survey?
If you are still active in research then please complete the survey. The survey includes a question at the start which allows you to state your employment status as ‘currently not in employment’.