Comparative Study on the Organization and Performance of Research Units, 1974

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.