@article{SeyfriedAnsmann2018,
  author    = {Seyfried, Markus and Ansmann, Moritz},
  title     = {Unfreezing higher education institutions?},
  series = {Higher Education},
  volume    = {75},
  journal   = {Higher Education},
  number    = {6},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Dordrecht},
  issn      = {0018-1560},
  doi       = {10.1007/s10734-017-0185-2},
  pages     = {1061 -- 1076},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Quality management (QM) in teaching and learning has strongly "infected" the higher education sector and spread around the world. It has almost everywhere become an integral part of higher education reforms. While existing research on QM mainly focuses on the national level from a macro-perspective, its introduction at the institutional level is only rarely analyzed. The present article addresses this research gap. Coming from the perspective of organization studies, it examines the factors that were crucial for the introduction of QM at higher education institutions in Germany. As the introduction of QM can be considered to be a process of organizational change, the article refers to Kurt Lewin's seminal concept of "unfreezing" organizations as a theoretical starting point. Methodologically, a mixed methods approach is applied by combining qualitative data derived from interviews with institutional quality managers and quantitative data gathered from a nationwide survey. The results show that the introduction of QM is initiated by either internal or external processes. Furthermore, some institutions follow a rather voluntary approach of unfreezing, while others show modes of forced unfreezing. Consequently, the way how QM was introduced has important implications for its implementation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SeyfriedReith2019,
  author    = {Seyfried, Markus and Reith, Florian},
  title     = {Mixed methods for research into higher education},
  series = {Theory and method in higher education research},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Theory and method in higher education research},
  publisher = {Emerald Publishing Limited},
  address   = {Bingley},
  isbn      = {978-1-83867-841-8},
  issn      = {2056-3752},
  doi       = {10.1108/S2056-375220190000005008},
  pages     = {111 -- 127},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Mixed methods approaches have become increasingly relevant in social sciences research over the last few decades. Nevertheless, we show that these approaches have rarely been explicitly applied in higher education research. This is somewhat surprising because mixed methods and empirical research into higher education seem to be a perfect match for several reasons: (1) the role of the researcher, which is associated with strong intersections between the research subject and the research object; (2) the research process, which relies on concepts and theories that are borrowed from other research fields; and (3) the research object, which exhibits unclear techniques in teaching and learning, making it difficult to grasp causalities between input and results. Mixed methods approaches provide a suitable methodology to research such topics. Beyond this, potential future developments underlining the particular relevance of mixed methods approaches in higher education are discussed.},
  language  = {en}
}