How to archive & share data
Would you like to archive and share data through a Research Data Center? On this page, we provide information about the individual steps for data publication. You’ll also find the Service Policy and Collection Policy of VerbundFDB, along with answers to the most frequently asked questions from data providers.
How to archive & share data in 5 stepsCollection Policy – data we acceptService Policy – what happens to your dataFAQ archive & share data
Contact us!
Would you like to share research data through a Research Data Center in the field of educational research?
Give us a call or send a brief email with your phone number and availability. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Contact information:
0049-069 24708-300Contact form
In the initial meeting, we will discuss your request and inform you about the next steps. What data are involved? Are there any deadlines? Who are the contact persons?
The goal of this meeting is to determine whether the data fit the VerbundFDB and which Research Data Center is most suitable.
Afterwards, we will refer you to the colleagues at the appropriate research data center.
Important to Know – Data and Responsibilities
Only data that fall within the scope of VerbundFDB and meet the minimum requirements for reuse will be accepted. The basis for this is our Collection Policy (only available in German). Different Research Data Centers are responsible for quantitative and qualitative data collections according to their respective expertise. The Data Services for the Social Sciences at GESIS is responsible for survey data. RDC Education at DIPF handles qualitative data in the field of school and classroom research as well as quantitative instruments such as tests and scales. FD-Lex at the Mercator Institute for Linguistics manages learner texts, and the RDC at IQB archives data from performance and competency tests. The RDC-DZHW is responsible for both quantitative and qualitative data in higher education and science research.
Data intake meeting with the responsible RDC
After the initial meeting, you will receive the contact information of your representative at the responsible Research Data Center. They will get in touch with you as soon as possible to schedule the data intake meeting.
Before the meeting, the legal requirements for sharing data with the Research Data Center will be clarified. This is based on the consent forms used in the study, as well as any necessary official approvals or ethics committee reviews.
During a detailed conversation with the responsible Research Data Center — RDC-DZHW, GESIS, RDC at IQB, RDC for Education, or FD-Lex — you will be informed about the conditions for data intake and the next steps.
If the legal requirements are met, the data can then be prepared for transfer.
Prepare data and package the dataset
Prepare the data and assemble the data package to be transferred. Please keep the following in mind:
- Please name your files clearly and consistently, and submit them in common or non-proprietary file formats.
- Please anonymize the data as much as possible. Follow the applicable legal requirements for the data, such as the consent of study participants. As a general rule, remove all directly identifiable personal information, such as names and addresses of individuals and organizations. File names should also be neutral, and IDs should not be descriptive.
- In addition to the research data, please also submit research instruments, such as questionnaires and interview guides, as well as documentation and contextual materials, for example, method reports, codebooks/scale manuals, transcription guidelines, and anonymization protocols. Arrange the files as completely and coherently as possible. If available, please send us the Stamp list.
Download the Stamp list (only available in German)
Data transfer, initial review by the RDC, and contract finalization
Please upload the files through your user account at forschungsdaten-bildung.de. The process works as follows:
- Register or log in to your user account. You will receive the registration link from your designated contact person.
- Using the web form, you can provide information about yourself, your project, and the data.
- You will receive an email notifying you that you can agree to the terms and conditions in your account.
- Upload the data package.
After you submit the data, the responsible Research Data Center will conduct an initial review and proceed to document, register, and archive the research data. This includes the following steps:
- The responsible Research Data Center reviews the dataset in terms of technical, legal, and documentation aspects and creates standardized documentation. A DOI is then assigned. The individual services are described in our Service Policy (only available in german).
- Any outstanding questions will be clarified with you. You will receive an estimate of the expected processing time and the planned date of publication. Further anonymization, additional documentation, or data revisions by you and/or the RDC team may be required.
- The access level for the dataset will be agreed upon with you.
Finally, the contract is concluded. The necessary usage rights for storage, processing, and distribution are transferred to the RDC.
Data Provider Agreements of the RDC:
GESIS (only available in German)
FD-LEX (only available in German)
RDC at IQB (only available in German)
RDC-DZHW (only available in German)
RDC for Education at DIPF (only available in German)
Publication and provision of data by the RDC
Finally, the dataset is made accessible to others with the appropriate access protection. This means:
- The dataset will be displayed in the forschungsdaten-bildung.de portal under the search function, as well as in the portal of the respective RDC.
- The data will provide access to the data for secondary use by the respective RDC in accordance with the agreed access level.
Access conditions for research data at the RDCs
GESIS (only available in German)
RDC for Education at DIPF (only available in German)
RDC at IQB (only available in German)
RDC-DZHW (only available in German)
FD-LEX (only available in German)
Important to know – processing time
Publication usually takes several months. The processing time depends, among other things, on the size and complexity of the dataset as well as the thoroughness of the documentation.
Collection Policy – data we accept
The Collection Policy outlines which research data are accepted for archiving in the VerbundFDB. It specifies the minimum requirements that data must meet. Additionally, it describes the criteria used to assess the potential for secondary use of the data.
Collection Policy (only available in German)
Service Policy – what happens to your data
The Service Policy describes the archiving and service functions provided by the research data centers. This includes measures to enhance the reusability and visibility of the data. Various checks are carried out, standardized metadata are created, a DOI is assigned, and the data are published in search portals.
Service Policy (only available in German)
FAQ — Archiving & Sharing data
You can find information in the following document, which provides guidance on registration and data submission via mein.forschungsdaten-bildung.de.
Guidelines for Registration and Data Submission via mein.forschungsdaten-bildung.de (only available in German)
If you plan to upload files larger than 100 GB, please contact us in advance.
For video files, please make sure to keep file sizes as small as possible. Feel free to contact us in advance to discuss how the files can be transferred. We also recommend minimizing file sizes to support future use of the video data.
Are you planning to upload a large number of individual files? If so, it’s helpful to compress them into ZIP files before uploading.
You can pause the upload at any time and resume it later. For instance, it is possible to upload several file packages on different days.
Research data centers provide access-protected and controlled pathways to data. Even sensitive and personally identifiable data can be shared—provided that all necessary legal requirements are met. The research data centers conduct a legal and ethical review and coordinate the access conditions with you as the data provider.
Additionally, it is possible to make only parts of your data available for reuse or to do so only after an embargo period.
The VerbundFDB and the portal forschungsdaten-bildung.de are not an archive or repository where data are stored long term. Instead, the portal makes research data visible that are held in the collections of various research data centers (RDCs) in the field of educational research. Uploaded data are forwarded to the RDC that has the necessary subject-specific expertise to archive and provide access to the data.
You can access the data you have already submitted at any time. To do so, please contact the Research Data Center that holds your data.
Our services are free of charge for you.
The efforts for documenting and anonymizing research data already take place within the data-collecting research projects. You can apply for funding for these activities as part of your grant proposal. More information can be found on our pages about planning resources and submitting funding applications.
For certain reasons – such as pending qualification work, publications, or the reuse of test instruments – research data can only be made fully available after a so-called blocking period or embargo has expired.
In such cases, it is not always necessary to exclude the entire data set from reuse. Instead, it may be sufficient to block individual variables, individual questions, and/or test instruments for the relevant period. This allows the data to be made available for reuse in a timely manner under certain conditions.
The data is usually archived for at least ten years.
The incoming research data is processed by data stewards at the relevant research data centers.
1. Initial Check: Upon receipt of the research data and accompanying materials, an initial check is conducted. This involves verifying the files for formal correctness: ensuring that the submitted files match those specified in the contract, that the files can be opened and are readable, and that the previously provided metadata correspond with the submitted files. The file receipt is logged in a database.
2. Secure Storage: The original submitted files are copied and encrypted. Storage takes place at a minimum of two physically separate locations, with automatic backups performed regularly. Next, the copies are prepared for archiving. This includes assigning unique identifiers, renaming files, and, if necessary, migrating formats (e.g., converting Word documents to PDF). The processing of these copies occurs on access-restricted servers by authorized personnel only.
3. Content Processing, Preparation, and Documentation: Before the data are made available for secondary use, the dataset is reviewed and processed according to the designated archiving level.
The data are enriched and referenced with additional metadata (formal, administrative, technical, and content-related). This improves reusability and increases discoverability in search portals. If needed, further anonymization or special protective measures are applied. The dataset is included in the catalogues of the respective data centers and assigned a unique identifier (DOI). This DOI ensures that the dataset is permanently and uniquely identifiable. The DOI is also part of the dataset citation.
Subsequently, data-type specific processing procedures are applied by the responsible data center. These measures are carried out following checklists agreed upon between the data centers.
For more information on data curation at the research data centers, please refer to their respective websites:
RDC Education at DIPF (only available in German)
GESIS (only available in German)
RDC at IQB (only available in German)
RDC-DZHW (only available in German)
