Mapping Diversity: Developing a European Classification of ... - U-Map

16 3 Analyzing the Results of the Classification
Survey
3.1 Rationale for the survey
The classifi cation is intended to be based on the actual behaviour of higher education institutions.
The relevant aspects of that behaviour are organized in 14 dimensions and measured with 32
indicators. The information on these indicators at the institutional level is diffi cult to fi nd in international
databases. National data sources usually have more relevant information but the use of such data
sources is limited because of various practical, legal and methodological problems.
Therefore a survey among higher education institutions was designed. This survey served three
purposes:
• to assess the relevance of the dimensions selected
• to assess the quality of the indicators selected
• to provide data that will allow further analyses of the dimensions and their clustering and of the
indicators and their potential and pitfalls.
A fuller report on the Survey can be found in Annex IV.
3.1.1 Survey design
The survey consisted of two questionnaires: a questionnaire on the dimensions, querying the
relevance of the dimensions and the indicators selected, and a questionnaire on the indicators. The
latter comprised questions regarding data on the indicators selected as well as an assessment of
the indicators.
Draft questionnaires were developed based on the dimensions and indicators identifi ed and
selected at the end of phase I of the project. These draft questionnaires were tested and discussed
in the two sets of case studies, as described in chapter two. Based on the results of these tests, the
questionnaires were adjusted and placed on-line for the survey 1 .
MAPPING DIVERSITY
The intended size of the sample for the survey was 100 higher education institutions. To keep the
non-response rate as low as possible, networks of higher education institutions as represented in
the Advisory Board were asked to introduce the project and identify contact persons. Around 160
higher education institutions were contacted. A second channel through which potential participants
to the survey were identifi ed was through an open web-based procedure. On the project website
(www.cheps.org/ceihe) higher education institutions could express their interest in participating.
Based on the information provided the project team decided whether an interested institution could
participate. In total 16 higher education institutions were selected this way. A fi nal way to invite
institutions to participate was through national and international conferences. On a number of
occasions the project was presented and a call for participation was made.
To create the required diversity in the experimental data set, the sample was stratifi ed. The strata
in age and size were based on the information on over 3000 higher education institutions in the
database of the International Association of Universities (IAU). For the identifi cation of regions,
the United Nations classifi cation of regions was used 2 . In this classifi cation Europe is divided into
Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Europe.
1 for pdf versions of the questionnaires see www.cheps.org//ceihe_dimension.pdf and www.cheps.org//ceihe_
indicators.pdf.
2 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#europe