Table 3 Desired skills of graduates of the master’s program, scores 1 (crucial) and 2 (very important) aggregated

 A1 Knowledge of key concepts

100

100

91.7

97.6

97.3

8.3

 A2 Identification of relevant themes

94.4

100

91.7

97.4^b

95.8

8.3

 A3 Knowledge of structures of German health care system

94.4

100

91.7

92.7

94.7

8.3

 A4 Knowledge of outcome parameters

100

91.7

91.7

95^a

94.6

8.3

 A5 Knowledge of central players of the German health care system

88.9

100

83.3

90.2

90.6

16.7

 A6 Knowledge of in- and out-patient care structures

88.9

91.7

91.7

90.2

90.6

2.8

 A7 Knowledge of perspectives of different actors in health care

82.4^a

100

91.7

87.5^a

90.4

17.6

 A8 Knowledge of challenges in the German health care systems

88.9

91.7

83.3

87.8

87.9

8.4

 A9 Ideas for the future developments in German health care

83.3

75

91.7

90^a

85.0

16.7

 A10 Challenges of interprofessional collaboration

72.2

91.7

75

90^a

82.2

19.5

 A11 Basic knowledge in epidemiology

77.8

75

66.7

76.9^b

74.1

11.1

 A12 Knowledge in health economics

77.8

75

66.7

75^a

73.6

11.1

 A13 Knowledge in organizational development

61.1

66.7

66.7

64.1^b

64.6

5.6

 A14 Knowledge in business administration

66.7

58.3

66.7

61

63.1

8.4

84.6

10.7

 B1 Knowledge of implementation strategies

100

91.7

75

95.1

90.4

25

 B2 Knowledge of enablers and barriers in implementation

94.1^a

91.7

83.3

87.5^a

89.1

10.8

 B3 Knowledge of evidence-based practice

88.9

100^b

83.3

82.1^b

88.5

17.9

 B4 Knowledge of quality management in health care

83.3

90.9^a

72.7^a

82.9

82.4

18.2

 B5 Ability to develop an evaluation plan

83.3

83.3

90.9^a

70^a

81.8

20.9

 B6 Oral presentation skills for a public audience

83.3

83.3

83.3

73.2

80.7

10.1

 B7 Expertise in evaluation of implementation plans

83.3

83.3

75

74.4^b

79.0

8.9

 B8 Work experience at health care providers

77.8

75

83.3

67.5^a

75.9

15.8

83.4

15.9

 C1 Selection of appropriate research designs

88.9

100^b

83.3

90^a

90.5

16.7

 C2 Evaluation of applied research methods

88.9

100

63.6^a

90^a

85.6

36.4

 C3 Experience in handling different data source and routine data

88.9

81.8^a

91.7

77.5^a

84.9

14.2

 C4 Experience in planning a research study

83.3

81.8^a

83.3

85.4

83.4

3.6

 C5 Knowledge of data sources in health reporting

77.8

100

83.3

64.1^b

81.3

35.9

 C6 Practical experience in quantitative surveys and descriptive analysis

66.7

83.3

81.8^a

67.5^a

74.8

16.6

 C7 Knowledge of data sources for quality assessment

83.3

75

75

58.5

72.9

24.8

 C8 Evaluation of study protocols

77.8

50

58.3

82.5^a

67.1

32.5

 C9 Experience in conducting qualitative interviews

66.7

58.3

83.3

60^a

67.1

25.0

78.6

22.8

 D1 Literature search

94.4

100^a

75

85.4

88.7

25.0

 D2 Knowledge of criteria for scientific integrity and fidelity

83.3

90.9^a

83.3

87.8

86.3

7.6

 D3 Project organization

94.4

66.7

100

82.9

86.0

33.3

 D4 Oral presentations for an academic audience

100

83.3

66.7

82.5^a

83.1

33.3

 D5 Summary/review of English research literature

83.3

90.9^a

66.7

90^a

82.7

24.2

 D6 Summary/Review of German research literature

88.9

90^b

54.5^a

90.2

80.9

35.7

 D7 Ability to identify conflicts of interest

83.3

90.9^a

66.7

77.5^a

79.6

24.2

 D8 Ability to write an academic report

83.3

90.9^a

63.6^a

73.2

77.7

27.3

 D9 Knowledge of ethical and legal research guidelines

88.9

63.6^a

75

82.9

77.6

25.3

 D10 Proficiency in English

88.9

75

50

73.2

71.7

38.9

 D11 Moderation of group discussions

61.1

33.3

45.5^a

41.5

45.3

27.8

78.1

27.5