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]

 Target and remit

 Which data are accepted by VerbundFDB?

 Further information and sources

Target and remit

VerbundFDB aims at an adequate coverage of the entire scope of empirical educational research on the process of lifelong learning, from early childhood to adult education. VerbundFDB moreover aims to act as a contact for archiving, sharing and documenting research data from empirical educational research. This service primarily targets researchers whose projects relate to education respectively the education system in Germany and the German-speaking area.

VerbundFDB works toward curating and sharing selected research data and respective assessment instruments from educational research for secondary analyses. VerbundFDB thus focuses on digital-format data that have emerged from research processes – data from quantitative and qualitative studies. Currently, these data concern texts, audio and video data, survey data and data from assessments of achievement and competencies. In addition, the alliance collects documentation materials that serve to understand the data, e.g. code books and method reports or documentations of assessment instruments (for a detailed list of research data and material VerbundFDB curates and shares, see Which data?).

Moreover, VerbundFDB endeavours referencing of the diverse, disseminated research findings from the entire interdisciplinary area of educational research via its research system, including references to means of access.

Which data does VerbundFDB accept?

The following formal and content criteria are fundamental:

• Formal criteria concerning the quality of documentation as the most important condition to acceptance of a study. We principally only accept data and instruments from completed studies (in the case of longitudinal studies, also data after completion of individual assessment waves). All implemented assessment instruments and resulting data should be available.

• Moreover, one relevant condition to acceptance concerns the delivery of accompanying and contextual materials. These materials enable a comprehensive contextualisation and they are thus principally essential to rendering research data transparent and re-usable.

• Research data can principally only be made available for secondary analysis if this is legally permitted. Copyright of data material and conditions of data transmission need to be clearly established.

Content criteria: The issue focuses on the question whether a sufficient potential for secondary analyses can be assumed for researchers in empirical educational research, respectively whether the data might be interesting for future research. An estimation of such interests is based on a combination of selected aspects:

• Analytic potential respectively scope (time, thematic, geographical) of data: is a broad database provided forsecondary analyses which goes beyond project-specific aspects?

• Exclusive respectively unique character of data: do the data relate to areas that are rarely studied or areas that are difficult to access? Do the data possess a specific “historical value “, because they cannot be reproduced in this way? The preservation value of research data increases if these data are the only or the most comprehensive source of relevant information for a research topic.

• Reference/links of data to/with other data: Are the data suitable for comparison with already documented research data? Do the data ad to, or improve, information from existing datasets and do they thus assist in filling gaps?

VerbundFDB will check and validate the data according to the listed formal and content criteria, prior to accepting the data. Data will then be handed to one of the research data centres collaborating with VerbundFDB – for processing and documentation.

VerbundFDB reserves a right to refusal if the data do not sufficiently match its Scope and/or the listed formal and content criteria.

VerbundFDB advises data providers regarding the preparation of data for transmission to VerbundFDB. Alternatively, data providers are advised in finding a suitable repository or data centre for archiving their material if their data do not match the scope of VerbundFDB.

Further information and sources