Collection Policy of VerbundFDB
Collecting, archiving and sharing research data and information constitutes one of the most urgent strategic tasks for efficient and quality-assured research (e.g. Wissenschaftsrat 2012).
Against this background, the three institutes DIPF, GESIS and IQB joined forces to further expand their services in the field of empirical educational research and improve networking of their services. VerbundFDB (German Network for Educational Research Data) aims to act as a service operator for empirical educational research with the task of archiving research data and assessment instruments, and making these data available for secondary analyses as well as for teaching purposes. VerbundFDB thus renders an important contribution to assuring that research processes and research findings are permanently transparent.
Our definition of activities and tasks for VerbundFDB is based on the definition of empirical educational research by Prenzel (2006, p. 73):
„Ihr Gegenstand umfasst Voraussetzungen, Prozesse und Ergebnisse von Bildung über die Lebensspanne, und zwar innerhalb und außerhalb von (Bildungs-)Institutionen und im gesellschaftlichen Kontext. Ihr Anliegen ist es, die Bildungswirklichkeit zu verstehen und zu verbessern; sie zielt auf ein grundlegendes und anwendungsbezogenes Wissen, auf Beschreibungs-, Vorhersage-, Erklärungs- und Veränderungswissen.“ [original Version]
“It deals with prerequisites, processes and outcomes of education across the lifespan, both within and outside of (educational) institutions and in the context of society. It aims at understanding the real situation of education and improving it. Empirical educational research targets fundamental and application-oriented knowledge, descriptive knowledge as well as predictive knowledge, explanatory knowledge and knowledge for change.” [english translation by VerbundFDB]