The Perks and Hazards of Data Sources on Academic Freedom: An Inventory
Abstract
In this chapter, Spannagel provides a systematic inventory of key data types and sources useful for analyzing and assessing academic freedom, outlining both their benefits and limitations for empirical research. She emphasizes that a strong understanding of these strengths and weaknesses is essential whether researchers collect primary data or rely on secondary sources, because misinterpretation can lead to flawed findings. The chapter distinguishes five main data types: expert assessments, opinions and lived experiences, events data, institutional self-assessments, and de jure legal evaluations. Each type offers unique insights but also carries inherent pitfalls, like differing standards of reporting, contextual bias, and varying comparability across contexts. Spannagel discusses how combining different sources can mitigate individual shortcomings and improve the depth and reliability of academic-freedom analyses. The chapter also connects this inventory to practical research, showing how these data are used in country case studies and global indices such as the Academic Freedom Index, which has become a leading tool for comparative measurement. Her guidance equips scholars to critically navigate the complex data landscape and produce nuanced, methodologically sound assessments of academic freedom worldwide.
Type
Publication
Researching Academic Freedom: Guidelines and Sample Case Studies
Authors
Researcher in Political Science
I am passionate about exploring and comparing human rights protection and state coercion in democratic as well as authoritarian contexts. For my work and studies, I have received various scholarships and awards, and spent considerable time abroad in countries on five continents. I was previously a visiting scholar at Stanford University, USA, and a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute, Germany, where I co-developed the Academic Freedom Index. I hold a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Freiburg.