Academics ‘in motion’: A mixed-methods study on the link between social and spatial mobility of researchers

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The project explores the link between social and spatial mobility of researchers in Germany over the course of time, especially in the biographical retrospective. Against the background of diagnoses of contemporary advanced modern societies assuming an increasing spatial mobility in recent years, we ask whether these growing mobility requirements are likewise virulent in academics – or whether spatial flexibility is rather a congenial feature of academic work.Beyond the current state of research, we take a systematic look at various academic career stages (PhD candidates, post-doctoral fellows and senior scientists) and analyze the dynamics of the interplay between social and spatial mobility in the form of different process types and trajectories. Taking into account subjective interpretations of different forms of mobility contributes to a profound understanding of cause-and-effect relationships, e.g. by distinguishing between 'opportunity-' and 'survival-driven'-mobility, and transcends the analysis of superficial correlations. Moreover, the question arises as to which extent and in which ways explanatory factors impact on the interaction of social and spatial mobility in different career stages. In order to tackle this question, we distinguish between three main dimensions: 1) individual characteristics and resources, e.g. in accordance with the concept of 'motility'; 2) personal attitudes and preferences (which may well change in the course of academic careers); 3) structural conditions, e.g. density of higher education institutions or transport infrastructure. On this basis, a sociological perspective on social inequality, which considers typical characteristics of academic careers as well as changing societal framework conditions, aims to analyze the importance of spatial mobility for upward social mobility in the academic field.Our empirical approach involves three forms of research methods: a quantitative secondary analysis of data from various surveys and two additional studies: a quantitative online survey with researchers in selected disciplines and qualitative in-depth interviews with researchers with different mobility experiences. By drawing on existing data sets from the DZHW and the DIW/GSOEP, the target of the secondary analysis is to achieve a high range of the findings, whereas some of our research questions demand a deeper and more differentiated view. Therefore, own quantitative and qualitative complementary data collections are required particularly with regard to subjective attitudes in different career phases. We thus combine approved research methods in a productive way: 1) for our quantitative research agenda: sequence pattern analysis, causal analysis and network analysis; 2) for our qualitative research agenda: analytical strategies following the grounded theory approach.