Applied Methodical Mixture? Group Discussions and Paper & Pencil Interviews as a Preliminary Study in the Evaluation of Higher Education

Abstract

The applied connection between quantitative and qualitative methods of social research, dealt within this paper, is based on a pre-study model. The different levels of quality refer to the quality of structure, process and outcome in this research context. These have to be measured within the complex context of academic life. Only selected information from the entire report on the search for proper indicators of quality using empirical data is presented in this paper. Moreover it exemplifies the challenges of developing new indicators for process quality (here: quality of learning, teaching and consultation). The combination of group discussions and paper & pencil inquiries is a good methodical mixture to generate these specific indicators for quality in the complex and hierarchical setting of academia. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs040231