Comparative Study on the Organization and Performance of Research Units, 1974 (ICPSR 7547)

Version Date: Feb 16, 1992

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Principal Investigator(s):
Karin, et al. Knorr

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07547.v1

Version V1

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Summary

This data collection is the result of a cooperative six nation project that was coordinated by the UNESCO secretariat. It contains data collected in six European countries during the first round of an international comparative study of the organization and performance of scientific research units. Drawing from the growing tradition of survey research approaches to the study of management practices in science, in research, and in experimental development, this study provided for a multi-faceted evaluation of scientific productivity and effectiveness at the levels of both the individual scientist and the research unit. The survey was conducted by six participating national research teams that administered five standardized questionnaires, translated into the national languages of the participating countries, to a sample of scientists drawn from nine major fields of science and technology and representing approximately 200 research institutions in each of six countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden. The questionnaires were administered respectively to the head of the research unit, to the administrative officer, to staff scientists, to technical support staff, and to external evaluators. This data collection is an aggregated file of the five respondent levels, using the research unit as the case for analysis. In all, there are 1,222 research units in the sample. The questionnaires incorporated a wide variety of indicators for socio-psychological and sociological factors such as satisfaction with the work environment, ratings of supervisory qualities, perceptions of influence patterns, and the latitude in the choice of research themes. Additionally, the collection includes actual research output of the scientists individually and of the research units as a whole, as well as information on the professional experience of the research workers, the availability and quality of resources, and the extent of communication within and between research units.

Citation

Knorr, Karin. Comparative Study on the Organization and Performance of Research Units, 1974. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1992-02-16. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07547.v1

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Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1974

Date of Collection

1974-02 -- 1974-09

Data Collection Notes

  1. The data were deposited with the Consortium by the Belgian Archive on Social Science, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, and may only be disseminated to Consortium members.

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Sample

Each country had to include as least two scientific fields (of 24 possible) incorporated by at least one other country. From this minimum common basis, each research team carried out its national sampling design according to existing possibilities in the country concerned. Research Unit and Unit Head questionnaires were administered personally. The Scientist or Engineer in a Unit and the Technical or Service Staff Person in a Unit questionnaires were generally administered in a collective way, and the questionnaire for the External Evaluators was generally administered through the mail.

Universe

Scientific research units in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden.

Data Source

personal interviews, and self-enumerated questionnaires

Data Type(s)

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Original Release Date

1984-05-03

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • Knorr, Karin, et al. Comparative Study on the Organization and Performance of Research Units, 1974. ICPSR07547-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07547.v1
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Notes