This paper presents a review of research on data use in education. The study identifies key characteristics and trends in this body of research. Data use can be regarded as the centrepiece of evidence-based governing regimes, presented as an ideal way of coordinating activities on different levels in the school system. However, knowledge is limited about these accountability policies and the use of data in different contexts. Several informative literature reviews mainly focus on contributions from the USA. As data use in education as an element of the evidence movement may materialize differently in different countries and in different contexts the method employed has been designed to take a broader international scope by including European and Nordic research. An extensive search approach inspired by literature on research synthesis and in particular configurative reviews has been applied (Davies, 2000; Thomas & Pring, 2004; Gough et al., 2013). In detail, this study shares similarities with a systematic, narrative conceptual analysis—where information derived from individual studies are identified and configured into a new, macro-conceptual and/or theoretical understanding (Gough et al. 2013). The choice of design has been made on the assumption that there is considerable variation between English speaking, German speaking and Scandinavian speaking countries in traditions and focus of schooling, focus on evidence and data use (Hopmann 2008). For the study of data use in different contexts the research question is: What characterizes existing research on data use and what are the main results of this body of research? By focusing on characteristics this study investigates typical features of this body of research. The review provides an overview of the research field in terms of several descriptive variables: authors’ country of origin, year of publication, type of study, actor focus of the study, system level focus, research methods and main findings. It also enables identification of research gaps that might give direction for further studies on data use in education.

Davies, P. (2000). The relevance of systematic reviews to educational policy and practice. Oxford Review of Education, 26(3–4), 366-378 Gough, D., Oliver, S. & Thomas, J. (2013). An Introduction to Systematic Reviews. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Thomas, G. & Pring, R. (2004) Evidence-Based Practice in Education. Berkshire, UK: McGraw-Hill Education.