Using data accessible through research data centers and repositories to conduct research projects offers opportunities to make educational research more transparent, efficient, and inclusive (Nosek et al., 2015). However, the use of research data also presents specific challenges and requirements (Zuiderwijk et al. 2020). For example, researchers need to find data that matches their methodological approach and research interest. In this presentation, we will provide different perspectives on the potentials and challenges of using data from the researchers' perspective. The data basis is an online survey on the (re-)use of research data as well as the results of a discussion event (barcamp) on opportunities and challenges in the (re-)use of research data. The online survey assessed researchers' practices and attitudes toward data reuse during the Corona pandemic and before. Participants answered 110 primarily closed-ended questions. 285 men, 257 women, and 4 individuals with non-binary gender participated in the online survey. Most of them were from the field of social, educational, and economic sciences (n = 523). Using descriptive analyses, we examined the level of data use using several indicators. The indicators include (1) searching for data, (2) exploring data, (3) obtaining data, (4) analyzing or interpreting data, and (5) publishing results using the data. In addition, we analyzed constraints on scholarly work due to the COVID-19-pandemic, such as canceled or postponed data collections, and attitudes toward reusing research data. The quantitative study is supplemented by qualitative evaluations from discussion rounds with researchers. In a barcamp, we discussed the opportunities and challenges of reusing research data with about 100 researchers from the social sciences, education, and economics in 11 sessions with different content areas. Each session was documented by participants using a structured template. These transcripts formed the basis for our qualitative content analysis of the challenges and limitations of reusing research data. We identified key factors that facilitate data reuse. These factors include requirements for research data infrastructures and for the research process, as well as the culture of disciplines in relation to open science. Our results provide information about the current state of research data reuse in empirical education research and in the social sciences and economics. Our online survey, as well as the results of the qualitative content analysis, can provide evidence on the extent to which open research practices are being realized. We can also identify factors that potentially facilitate or hinder the use of available research data.

Nosek, B. A., Alter, G., Banks, G. C., Borsboom, D., Bowman, S. D., Breckler, S. J., et al. (2015). Promoting an open research culture. Science, 348(6242), 1422–1425. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2374. Zuiderwijk, A., Shinde, R., & Jeng, W. (2020). What drives and inhibits researchers to share and use open research data? A systematic literature review to analyze factors influencing open research data adoption. PLOS ONE, 15(9), e0239283. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239283