sebastianlang – Dr. Sebastian Lang

27. Februar 2023

Graduates’ early wages in Germany: Does a university’s status of excellence make the difference?

The German initiative of excellence was the most far-reaching political measure in university funding–a shift from an equal distribution of funds, rooted in Humboldt’s tradition, to large-scale merit-based funding. Recent studies have examined the question how the initiative has affected (in)equality in university funding; but as yet little is known about effects on graduates’ monetary returns for university degrees. We analyse whether a degree from a ‘university of excellence’ leads to a wage premium at labour market entry. (...)

21. Dezember 2022

The Effects of Response Burden – Collecting Life History Data in a Self-Administered Mixed-Device Survey

Collecting life history data is highly demanding and therefore prone to error since respondentsmust retrieve and provide extensive complex information. Research has shown that responseburden is an important factor influencing data quality. We examine whether increases indifferent measures of response burden in a (mixed-device) online survey lead to adverseeffects on the data quality and whether these effects vary by the type of device used (mobileversus non-mobile). (...)

16. September 2022

A Life History Calendar in a CAWI? Evidence From Higher Education Research

Because retrospective collection of life history data requires respondents to retrieve and provide complex information, the process is highly demanding for respondents and prone to error. While a standard questionnaire does not align well with the structure of autobiographical memory, the use of a life history calendar (LHC) may facilitate cognitive processes and reduce response burden. It is unclear, however, whether LHCs yield favourable effects in self-administered mixed-device surveys. (...)

9. Juni 2022

„It’s not the money alone“ – Scientific impulses for the reform of BAföG

Das Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz, kurz BAföG, ist das wohl wichtigste und bekannteste Instrument der staatlichen Studienförderung in Deutschland. An das BAföG sind bis heute große Hoffnungen und Erwartungen geknüpft. Es soll nicht nur dazu beitragen, hochqualifizierte Bildungsreserven und Bildungspotenziale zu aktivieren und zu mobilisieren, sondern soll auch die Bildungs- und Chancengerechtigkeit erhöhen. (...)

28. April 2022

The end of a journey – PhD completed

I am very happy to announce that I successfully defended my PhD. The whole dissertation, including full-texts of the three published papers “Prejudices Against the Unemployed–Empirical Evidence From Germany”, “Zum Stigmabewusstsein Arbeitsloser: Eine Mixed-Methods-Analyse” and “Einflussfaktoren auf das Stigmabewusstsein Arbeitsloser” as well as a working paper version of "Stigma-Consciousness in the Unemployed: A Matter of Neighborhood?", is available for download here (some parts are in German, some are in English). (...)

13. Juni 2021

Strengthening Causal Reasoning in Research on Inequality, Poverty and Mobility: New Methods for Answering Old Questions?

The question of why has become increasingly important and popular across different fields of research (c.f. Pearl & Mackenzie 2019). However, this is not really surprising as many research questions – for example, in the area of inequality, poverty and mobility – are definitely of a causal nature. Nevertheless, it seems as if economists are more successful in providing causal inference. (...)

23. Dezember 2020

Workshop report „Causality in the Social Sciences II“

Based on our amazing experiences attending the workshop on “Causal Inference in the Social Sciences” at the University of Leipzig in summer 2019, we decided to host a follow-up workshop at the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) in Hanover. The subsequent workshop “Causality in the Social Sciences II” has been integrated into the scientific activities of DZHW’s research cluster “Empirical Methods in Higher Education and Science Studies”. Causal analysis is one thematic focus among others. The particular objective of this workshop was to bring together young scholars from different fields to discuss all questions related to causality. (...)

3. Juni 2020

Prejudices against the unemployed – empirical evidence from Germany

Prejudices against the unemployed pose an enormous threat to their self-confidence and can make it difficult for them to re-enter the labour market, resulting in further long-term unemployment. Given these high costs for the unemployed and for society as a whole, our knowledge of prejudices against the unemployed is surprisingly scarce. We focus on the question of what determines the strength of prejudice among employees. By applying social identity theory, we assume that people who are disadvantaged in the labour market in general, also hold stronger prejudices. In addition, we assume that social status mediates this association and that self-efficacy moderates it. (...)

22. Mai 2020

Workshop – Causality in the Social Sciences II

The workshop "Causality in the Social Sciences II" will take place in October 8 and 9, 2020 at the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) in Hanover. The conference is organised by Sebastian Lang and Ulrike Schwabe within the Research Cluster Empirical Methods of Higher Education Research and Science Studies. The workshop is financially supported by the German Academy of Sociology and the DZHW. (...)