EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

Chapter 3 ! Career management 165
4.2.2. Career Management Survey
For this tool: see Tool Annex.
A questionnaire was developed in collaboration with the Mainstreaming Promoters of the
Faculty of Theology (see Good Practice Mainstreaming Promoters: survey career management).
The initial questionnaire was based on the concept note of the Mainstreaming
Promoters and the working group on equal opportunities and diversity of the Faculty of
Theology. Some items (8-12, 18, 20-23, 25, 28, 29, 32, 34) were (partially) taken over
from the questionnaires of the study ‘Doctoreren in Vlaanderen’ 192 . After feedback of the
Mainstreaming Promoters, the working group and a staff member of the Research Coordination
Office and after the authorization of the Faculty Board, the survey was ready to
be sent out.
The survey is a quantitative questionnaire with 35 items. Two types of questions can be
distinguished: a first one inquires about a certain situation or experience (the respondent
ticks the right box), a second one probes the opinion of the respondent (the respondent
marks his/her opinion on a scale from 1 to 6).
The questionnaire consists of seven major parts and was sent to 117 respondents who
have attended the last Master year at the faculty since 1998. The seven parts entail:
1. personal data (year of birth, sex, year of graduation, family situation, number of children);
2. information about the last Master year: grade obtained, course chosen, satisfaction,
actions about funding to start doctoral research, motives to enrol in Master year, information
about different sources of funding, starting the doctoral research, motives to
not start a doctoral research;
3. information about the doctoral research: sex promoter, motives to start doctoral research,
choice of subject, opinion about some statements (regarding the faculty, the
doctoral research, the promoter), formal interviews (performance interview, evaluation
interview, effectiveness of those interviews), obtaining the PhD, interest in scientific
career;
4. information about quitting the doctoral research: the phase of the doctoral research,
satisfaction with terms of employment, motives to quit doctoral research;
5. information about the scientific career: job after PhD, added value of a PhD-degree,
expectation to remain scientifically active;
6. information about ending the appointment at the university: way to end career at university,
motives to leave university;
7. information about the current job (career): decisive elements in choice of profession,
satisfaction with terms of employment in current job, current job, level of current job.
In the questionnaire reference functions were used. This means that depending on a
certain answer one is directed to a next one. This is because not all parts are relevant to
everyone. Of all respondents that graduated as a student, some started a doctoral research
and others did not for certain reasons. Some obtained their PhD, some did not.
192 Verlinden, A.; Billiet, J.; Pyck, H.; e.a. (2005), op. cit.