Adapting your teaching during the pandemic? How social science research education adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic

University lecturers worldwide had to adopt to online teaching at very short notice due to restrictions related to COVID-19. This is a particular challenge for social sciences research methods education, which often requires face-to-face interactions. Data from an online survey of lecturers (n = 105;March 2020) who teach social science methods and methodology at Austrian public universities was used to discuss their adaption behavior and the corresponding determinates. Consequently, a measure for the rate of adaption of teaching materials and methods per lecturer was constructed and a linear regression model employed to discuss the determinants of this adaption. The results show the following: Understanding online teaching as a permanent solution for the future, the extent of an individual's teaching load and a tenured employment were identified as significant influences fostering the adaption of teaching methods and materials to the online context. The predictors discovered differ from previous studies, and it has to be assumed that the adaption behavior in the wake of the pandemic had a profound impact on the ongoing digitalization of university education.

Embracing the digitalization of research education? How social science research education was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a strong digitalization push at university level teaching. The latter had to be converted to distance modes quickly. This paper discusses the consequences of these developments for the field of social science research education, a discipline where the personal interaction between lecturers and students traditionally plays a major role in the transfer of knowledge and competences. Accordingly, we ask whether lecturers accepted distance learning as part of their work and if they will implement the associated digital teaching modalities into their regular teaching repertoire in the future. Furthermore, indicators shaping the acceptance of future distance teaching are explored. The article is based on a continuous online survey of lecturers (n = 169) who teach social science methods and methodology at Austrian public universities. The results of this study show that more than 40 % of the sample with or after the experience of distance teaching will retain some aspects of it in their teaching due to the CODIV-19 pandemic. In particular, the evaluation of the preparation effort, the interaction with students and the attitude toward new didactic methods play a central role in the acceptance of distance teaching.

Are There Enough Open Educational Resources Dealing With Social Science Research Methods? Insights From the D-A-CH Region

The D-A-CH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) region has traditionally been skeptical toward open educational resources (OER) materials. Despite being strong partners for the open science community, the three German-speaking countries in Europe did not embrace wide-reaching OER policies in the past and offered only a limited number of incentives for supranational or nationwide genuine German-language OER. These missing national initiatives can also be seen in the field of social science research-related materials. As the domain gained much public interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, where attitudes, values, and societal changes—traditionally the domain of social scientific inquiry—were spotlighted in the media and public discourse, it fell to individual universities, organizations, and people to provide free online education materials—be they true OER or at least quasi-OER—that could help people within and outside of academia to understand and gain insights into the statistics and data presented and distributed via various channels. However, mapping the OER materials in this field during the summer of 2021—1 year after the pandemic had begun and the accompanying stream of data had started—revealed that the educational resources covering social science research methods that are offered in the German language are sparse, and those that are available are mostly quasi-OER, not fulfilling all the typical OER criteria. Thus, they have limited application scenarios. If the region wants to truly embrace an open science policy, it needs to strengthen OER in future. Copyright © 2022 Prandner and Forstner.

The Austrian's expectations for the future during the Corona crisis

What will come after the Corona crisis? The research note discusses the Austrians' expectations for the future during the first phase of the Corona pandemic. Data from the Austrian Corona Panel Project illustrates that there is an inherent difference between the future expectations for Austria and the expectations for the individual future. While more than 60% believe that the situation in Austria will get worse within the next years, only 26% think so when it comes to their own future. Using individual attitudes regarding the perception of three states of crisis-structural, regulation, cohesion (as proposed by Anhut and Heitmeyer)-analysis illustrate that trust in institutions is a key driver in how optimistic or pessimistic the people in Austria judge their own, as well as the societal, future. Furthermore, being aware of societal inequalities affects the outlook for the individual, as well as for the societal, future. Additionally, those who are engaging with politics are more pessimistic when it comes to the future of the country.