Prof. Dr. Michael Bosnjak
Head of Department: Psychological Research Methods
Mailing Address
FB I - Psychology
University of Trier
D-54286 Trier
Contacts
Office D 134, Building D (Psychology), Campus I
eMail: bosnjakuni-trierde
Phone: +49 (0)651 201-2705
Secretary
Anette Weidler
Phone: +49(0)651 201-2706
sekbosnjakuni-trierde
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Academic History
2025: Habilitation for Social Informatics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2017: Full Professor (W3), Psychology: Psychological Research Methods, Trier University, tenured.
2016: Full Professor (W3), Evidence-Based Survey Methodology, University of Mannheim, tenured.
2013: Honorary Professorship, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim.
2013: Habilitation for Management (Full Professor level), FU Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.
2008: Associate Professor, FU Bozen-Bolzano, Italy, tenured in 2011.
2007: Habilitation for Psychology, University of Mannheim, Germany.
2003: Assistant Professorship, Psychology: Research Methods and Consumer Psychology, University of Mannheim, Germany.
Employment History
06/2025 – present: Senior Research Fellow, University of Ljubljana, Faculty for Social Sciences, Center for Social Informatics
01/2022 – 12/2022: Scientific Director and Department Head (Epidemiology and Health Monitoring), Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin (delegated for one year)
07/2017 – 12/2021: Director, Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID), Trier
07/2017 – present: University Professor (W3, Full Professor level) for Psychological Research Methods, Trier University
01/2016 – 06/2017: Professor for Evidence-Based Survey Methodology (W3), School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim
01/2013 – 06/2017: Honorary Professor, University of Mannheim
01/2013 – 06/2017: Team Leader ‘GESIS Panel’ and ‘Survey Operations’, Department of Survey Methodology and Design (SDM), GESIS Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences, Mannheim
03/2008 – 12/2015: Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy (on leave 2013-2015)
04/2003 – 02/2008: Assistant Professor for Consumer Psychology and Research Methods, University of Mannheim
05/1998 – 03/2003: Research Associate, Center for Survey Research and Methodology (ZUMA), Mannheim
05/1997 - 04/1998: Research Associate, University of Heidelberg, Department of Psychology
Awards
2013: Honorary Professorship, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim
2011: Isaac Manasseh Meyer Fellowship, National University of Singapore
2003: Karin Islinger Award (for the best social science dissertation of 2002), University of Mannheim
1998: Best paper award at the AACE ED-Media/ED-Telecom Conference 1998 for the paper "Supporting hypertext-based argumentation skills" (received together with Prof. Dr. Peter Reimann).
Top 5 Achievements
Founding Member of German Society for Online Research
Co-founded the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Online-Forschung e.V. (German Society for Online Research) in 1998. See also the German Wikipedia entry about the society, section history of the society:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Gesellschaft_f%C3%BCr_Online-Forschung
GESIS Panel Conceptualization and Establishment
Led the conceptualization, development, and initial operation of the GESIS Panel, a strategic, open probability-based infrastructure for surveying the general population in Germany. Reference paper of the GESIS Panel:
https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439317697949
ZPID Strategic Expansion
Secured permanent strategic expansion funding for the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID), which included establishing three Tenure Track Assistant Professorships and permanent Open-Science Infrastructure services. See also the evaluation report of the Leibniz Association (in German):
https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/fileadmin/documents/339-341/ZPID_-_Senatsstellungnahme_27-11-2018_mit_Anlagen.pdf
RKI Health Panel Conceptualization and Establishment
Was delegated as Scientific Director at the Robert Koch-Institute (RKI) for one year in 2022 to lead the Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring and to establish the RKI Health Panel.
PRP-QUANT Template Primary Author
Primary author of "A template for preregistration of quantitative research in psychology" (PRP-QUANT template), which was developed by the joint psychological societies preregistration task force and published in the journal American Psychologist. Standard for formalizing protocols for empirical studies in Psychology. Reference publication:
https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000879
Prof. Dr. Michael Bosnjak is head of the Department for Psychological Research Methods at Trier University (Germany), and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Social Informatics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).
His research interests include: Research synthesis methods, AI-based inference methods, HEXACO-D personality model, survey methodology, open science, and consumer/business psychology.
Professor Bosnjak is Editor-in-Chief of Zeitschrift für Psychologie, the oldest Psychology journal in Europe (founded in 1890 by Hermann Ebbinghaus and Arthur König).
From July 2017 until December 2021, he was the Director of the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) in Trier, Germany. In 2022, he was delegated to Robert Koch Institute in Berlin (Germany) as Scientific Director and Department Head (Epidemiology and Health Monitoring).
Before joining the University of Trier in 2017, he was team leader for the area Survey Operations at GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in Mannheim, Germany, and Full Professor for Evidence-Based Survey Methodology at the University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences. Between 2013 and 2016, he was the founding team leader of the GESIS Panel, a probabilistic mixed-mode omnibus panel for the social sciences.
Previously, he held positions as an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy (2008-2015), as an Assistant Professor of Consumer Psychology and Research Methods at the University of Mannheim, Germany (2003-2008), as a research associate at ZUMA, the Center for Survey Research and Methodology in Mannheim (1998-2003), and as a graduate research assistant at the University of Heidelberg (1997-1998).
Prof. Dr. Michael Bosnjak received his master degree (German: Diplom) in Psychology from the University of Freiburg (Germany) in 1997 with a thesis on Internet-based studies in Psychology. He earned a Ph.D. in Psychology with a dissertation on ´Nonresponse in Web Surveys´ (2002, summa cum laude, University of Mannheim), and is holding his ´venia legendi´ for Psychology since 2007 (University of Mannheim).
In June 2013, he was awarded a Honorary Professorship at the University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, and in December 2013, he was awarded the Italian National Habilitation for Management (Full Professor level).