Flexible latent trait aggregation to analyze employability after the Ph.D. in Italy

Abstract

The analysis of satisfaction, employability and economic perspectives after the Ph.D. in Italy has not received adequate attention in the past, especially in terms of comparison among universities. To analyze these aspects, in this paper we consider data from the survey ‘Statistica in TEma di Laureati e LAvoro’ on doctors who achieved the title on 2007, 2008 and 2009 [CILEA, Laureati STELLA, indagine occupazionale post-dottorato, dottori di ricerca 2007–2008, Tech. Rep., CILEA, Segrate, 2010; CILEA, Laureati STELLA, indagine occupazionale post-dottorato, dottori di ricerca 2008–2009, Tech. Rep., CILEA, Segrate, 2011]. To deal with the complex, multidimensional nature of the concept, we propose a flexible two-step procedure for the construction of a composite indicator, and make a first attempt to rank some Italian universities. In the first step, indicators for single dimensions are derived from cumulative link models with proportional odds. In the second step, aggregation through standard, ad hoc methods is proposed.

Keywords:

• post-doctoral aspects
• cumulative models
• latent trait aggregation

Acknowledgements

This article is the result of the productive collaboration among the authors. In particular, Section 1 and 2 can be ascribed to Ornella Giambalvo, Section 3 and 4 can be ascribed to Salvatore Fasola, and Section 5 and 6 can be ascribed to Clara Romano.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This work was supported by Italian Ministerial grant PRIN 2008 [grant number 2008BWXSLH], “Measures, statistical models and indicators for the assessment of the University System”.