The Research Information Service with attached special library (RIS) is a service institution of INCHER. In addition to services for the research of INCHER the RIS also supports researchers and students in the field of higher education research in general by:
- assistance with project and study-specific research and literature-based knowledge management (RIS)
- providing literature (library)
- systematic preparation of bibliographies and reference literature on individual topics (knowledge-management-service)
A special offer for researchers constitutes Higher Education Research - A Compilation of Journals and abstracts. The Compilation provides a collection of relevant, especially international scientific journals for higher education research. The annual collection ranges from dedicated, mostly peer-reviewed higher education research journals to sociological, organizational sociology, labor market-oriented, theoretical and empirical contributions to higher education research. The electronic document includes article titles, authors and abstracts on the articles of the volume and informs about the (electronic) access to the journals. As a “side effect”, the comprehensive and structured information tool also provides an overview of current topics in the field of higher education research.
The special research library of INCHER provides academic literature and journals with regard to the Centre’s research areas. Approximately 25,000 documents are available, i.e. nationally and internationally published monographs and editorials, journals, brochures and so called gray literature, on the main topics:
- Tertiary and Higher Education
- (higher education systems, institutions, planning, reform and evaluation)
- Study, students and graduates
- Academic professions and junior academics
- Organizational aspects of Higher Eduction
- (higher education management and development, leadership, governance)
- Research policies and funding
- Occupation and labor market
- (mainly: graduate employment, careers of academics, highly skilled women)
- Educational research and science studies
- (theoretical approaches, empirical analyses, social science methods)
The holdings are collected and constantly enhanced with respect to interdisciplinary approaches, focusing on the social sciences, content-related to Europe, North and Central America as well as Japan and individual African countries.
Furthermore the library provides a comprehensive collection of so called Gray Literature (literature and documents not available in the regular book market, e.g. government publications, reports of universities, research groups, scientific and policy organizations).
Sources for literature search
- OPAC of the University of Kassel
- other Data bases of the University of Kassel