Heisenberg Professor: The transparency and credibility of empirical research

Professor Ingo Rohlfing, PhD, who holds the Chair of Methods of Empirical Social Research at the University of Passau, has been appointed Heisenberg Professor. The position is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with the objective of assessing the transparency and credibility of quality research and is one of the most prestigious and highly endowed funding programmes.

"The transparency and credibility of empirical research are key to ensuring the legitimacy of such research in academia, society and politics," explains Ingo Rohlfing, professor of Methods of Empirical Social Research at the University of Passau. Although lots of studies have been conducted on the methods of quantitative research, revealing the shortcomings and problems of published results, qualitative research studies are far and few in between. Professor Rohlfing's goal is to conduct studies that provide initial insights into the transparency and verifiability of qualitative research. In a second project, Professor Rohlfing and his team will apply and assess new ways of enhancing research transparency and credibility in a qualitative case study. Such methods involve registered research designs and team-based research.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) will be funding the project for five years under its reputable Heisenberg Programme. Heisenberg professors are selected in a highly competitive process. Professor Rohlfing successfully applied for the funding while he was employed at the University of Cologne. In October 2022, he was appointed professor at the University of Passau.

Integrating open science in research and teaching

"Getting Professor Rohlfing to join us is a big win for the faculty and university. I would like to thank everyone who was involved in making this possible. The administration of our university, in particular, played a major part in this. I want to welcome Mr Rohlfing amongst us as Heisenberg Professor and look forward to his stimulating contributions to our academic development," says Professor Ulrich Bartosch, President of the University of Passau. "Professor Rohlfing will be instrumental in promoting research methodology in our field of social sciences and education". Professor Rohlfing has the following to say about his plans: "I want to encourage further integration of open and transparent research practice in research and teaching". His project will add momentum to ongoing open science initiatives at the University of Passau.

Personal profile

Ingo Rohlfing earned his PhD in 2007 at Jacobs University in Bremen in political science. He was Junior Professor for Comparative Methods at the University of Cologne, then Professor Methods at Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences and at the Department of Political Science at the University of Cologne. In October 2022, he joined the University of Passau and has held the Chair of Methods of Empirical Social Research ever since.

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