Open & FAIR
Open Science and the FAIR principles are fundamental to the work of the Research Data Centers that are part of VerbundFDB. VerbundFDB VerbundFDB supports researchers in practicing Open Science through its services. In addition, VerbundFDB actively researches Open Science and Open Data in order to focus on both the potential and challenges of Open Science practices.
Below you will find information on:
Open ScienceOpen Data in educational research - open but protectedFAIR data in VerbundFDBResearch to promote Open ScienceFurther information and sources
Open Science
Open Science describes a movement for an open form of science. Increased openness will promote reproducibility, transparency and collaboration in science. Open Science is associated with a return to the principles of scientific work and cooperation formulated since the Enlightenment and attempts to implement these by digital means.The aims of Open Science are to strengthen the scientific system, enhance social relevance, and improve credibility.
The Open Science movement is therefore becoming increasingly important, particularly in response to the replication crisis and the growing use of artificial intelligence in text generation.
Replication crisis
In the 2010s, more and more previously published findings could not be replicated. As a result, the credibility of scientific results was discussed and there were calls for more transparency and the implementation of Open Science practices.
Two references on the topic:
Replicability, Robustness, and Reproducibility in Psychological Science | 2022
Nosek et al. explain the difference between reproducibility, robustness and replicability and describe the current state of psychological research.
Replication, Replication | 1995
Gary King’s seminal article highlights the importance of accessible and replicable research data in political science.
Open Science involves several principles:
- Open Access - free access to scientific publications
- Open Data - free access to research data
- Open Educational Resources (OER) - free access to educational materials
- Open Source and Open Hardware - free access to software and hardware
These principles are increasingly embraced by scientists, journals, professional societies, universities, funding agencies, and international organizations such as UNESCO. The three German professional societies DGfE, GEBF and GFD in the field of educational research also support Open Science:
"All three formulated objectives – the archiving, provision, and reuse of research data – are also relevant in the context of Open Science, i.e. open and public science that strives to make research accessible and comprehensible to the specialised and general public. The fundamental possibility of re-analyzing data or replicating studies and the transparency of the evaluation process represent a central quality aspect of empirical research." (Statement on research data management by DGfE, GEBF and GFD).
To the statement on research data management by DGfE, GEBF and GFD (only available in German)
Open Data in educational research - open but protected
Open Data - the open provision of research data - is one of the principles of Open Science. By publishing research results together with the associated data, research becomes comprehensible, reproducible and therefore more trustworthy both within and outside the scientific community. Furthermore, the data, which is usually collected and curated at great expense, can be reused in this way.
Open Data does not mean that all data is freely accessible without restriction. In educational research, Open Data often means that data is available under controlled conditions.
With its services, VerbundFDB supports educational researchers in implementing Open Data, and the research data centers that are part of VerbundFDB enable researchers to access data securely when access is restricted due to legal or ethical considerations.
The National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) is being funded in the German science system to establish the necessary infrastructure for Open Data. It consists of subject-specific networks, known as consortia.
FAIR data in VerbundFDB
The openness of research data is specified by the acronym FAIR. According to the Open Science principles, research data should be FAIR, i.e.:
- Findable
- Accessible
- Interoperable
- Reusable
About the FAIR data principles
Large panel and survey data sets from the social sciences have been made available for reuse for decades. In many fields of qualitative social research, initiatives to make research data available according to the FAIR principles have only been in existence for a few years.
Through its services, VerbundFDB helps make educational research data available in accordance with the FAIR principles.
- The data can be found via a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), metadata and an entry in various search portals.
- The data is provided by research data centers and is therefore accessible.
- The data is interoperable through open and standardized metadata and formats.
- The data can be reused thanks to the curation of the Research Data Centers.
Research to promote Open Science
Through its connection to the DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education and its collaboration with KonsortSWD, the FDB network is involved in research to promote Open Science.
ShaReD - Sharing and Reusing Data
Cooperation at DIPF | active since 2022
In the cooperation "Sharing and Reusing Data" (ShaReD), people from data infrastructures and educational research at the DIPF are working across departments to make research data more easily accessible to science and to make available data more usable. The aim is to analyze Stamp’s usability, continuously improve its user-friendliness, and align it with the needs of research practice.
In ShaReD, data with special reuse potential and increased processing effort is made available and the use of the data is actively supported. Activities are organized into four data areas:
Data from historical educational research (page currently under construction)
Data from national education reporting
META-REP
A Meta-Scientific Programme to Analyse and Optimize Replicability in the Behavioral, Social, and Cognitive Sciences | 2021-2024
META-REP is a DFG priority program funding 15 projects in cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, methodology, communication sciences, economics, and educational research.
The aim of this research program is to investigate a) what replicability means and when replication can be considered successful, b) which factors influence replication success rates and c) which measures can be used to increase replication success rates so that reliable research results can be achieved.
The IQB, a partner in the FDB network, is participating in the META-REP research program with its own study. The authors are addressing the question of how reproducible and robust secondary analyses in educational research are.
To the IQB study (only available in German)
Stamp/DDP Education
Domain data protocols for educational research | 2019-2022
In this project, eleven institutions from the field of educational research worked on defining common standards for FAIR data. Standards were defined for research ethics, data protection, copyright, data organization, traceability, data sharing, and long-term preservation.
The result was Stamp – a comprehensive collection of information and materials that supports researchers in implementing FAIR data. The background and namesake of the project is the concept of Domain Data Protocols - subject-specific data management plans from Science Europe.
The research data management information on this website is based on Stamp.
VerbundFDB is committed to continuously improving Stamp. For this reason, a team of staff from the DIPF, IQB, GESIS and DIE will continue to research Stamp and integrate it into technical systems (RDMO). The aim is to analyze the usability of Stamp, to continuously optimize its user-friendliness and to focus on research practice needs and requirements.
Further information and sources
Open Science as a contribution to quality in educational research | 2021
Krammer & Svecnik describe how Open Science can contribute to increasing the robustness of educational research findings. (only available in German)
Joint statement of the professional societies DGfE, GEBF and GFD | 2020
The statement contains recommendations on the archiving, provision and reuse of research data. (only available in German)
Open Science as part of the culture of science | 2022
The DFG positions itself in favor of the further development of Open Science principles and practices. (only available in German)
UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science | 2021
UNESCO summarizes its recommendations on Open Science in a paper.
Open Science. One Term, Five Schools of Thought. | 2013
Fecher and Friesike outline five schools of thought on Open Science in their article.
