Monitoring international interest in transnational academic mobility to Australia: a mixed-method approach

In a recent study, the issue of transnational academic mobility of academic staff, considering moves to higher education institutions in Australia, was examined using a web-based portal that attracted interested parties from around the world with information about Australian academic career opportunities. Web analytics were used as the research mechanism for generating quantitative data that identified the regions of the world from where most interest was being generated. Passive observations were made, leading to commentary on the regions of particular interest, the effectiveness of web analytics as a research tool, and the strengths and limitations of such an experiment. Whilst this study highlighted some interesting trends there were a number of inherent limitations. To build on these findings, and to overcome the original experiment's limitations, an online questionnaire was introduced to extract additional quantitative and qualitative demographic data. In utilising this mixed-method approach, a more detailed profile of those interested in transnational academic mobility to Australia, has been developed. A number of interesting new findings emerged about the characteristics of those looking at academic careers in Australia, and a more detailed depiction of the transnational nature, and multicultural make up, of the academic profession has been realised.