Network
NW 12 Open Research in Education
Title
Open Research Data in Education: Reflections, Practices, and Reuse
Abstract
Research data are a cornerstone of educational research. Their preparation, accessibility, and reusability are crucial for advancing scientific knowledge, ensuring transparency, and fostering cumulative research. However, how research data are documented, shared, and reused is far from trivial. Open Science provides a framework for reflecting on and discussing these practices by promoting accessible, inclusive, and collaborative forms of knowledge production. Network 12 invites contributions addressing the practices of preparing, sharing, and reusing research data in educational research. Submissions may include conceptual reflections as well as empirical studies and practical experiences regarding data management, data sharing, and reuse.
The Call
Research data are a cornerstone of educational research. Their preparation, accessibility, and reusability are crucial for advancing scientific knowledge, ensuring transparency, and fostering cumulative research. However, how research data are documented, shared, and reused is far from trivial. Open Science provides a framework for reflecting on and discussing these practices by promoting accessible, inclusive, and collaborative forms of knowledge production. This involves examining the processes of preparing, documenting, and reusing data, as well as engaging with emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, that can influence both data analysis and secondary research. Ethical and legal considerations are particularly important when dealing with sensitive educational data.
By focusing on practices and the related challenges rather than purely technical solutions, this call invites educational researchers to discuss how data handling can support meaningful research and theory-building, strengthen the links between research and practice, and opens up new opportunities for collaboration across communities. Contributions from research infrastructures that support researchers in their data sharing and reuse efforts are encouraged to foster a dialogue between researchers and infrastructures.
Network 12 invites contributions addressing the practices of preparing, sharing, and reusing research data in educational research. Submissions may include conceptual reflections as well as empirical studies and practical experiences regarding data management, data sharing, and reuse. We particularly welcome contributions discussing how researchers prepare their data for use and reuse, make data available for reuse, or engage in secondary analyses of available datasets. Examples include reflections on the processes involved in preparing and documenting data, as well as data sharing and reuse. Discussions of the associated methodological, ethical, and legal challenges are also welcome. The use of AI tools in data preparation, analysis and reuse can also be discussed in this context. Regarding the development of AI systems, questions regarding data quality, data access, and transparency in the LLMs’ training, can be raised, among other things. Educational researchers are encouraged to approach these topics from their own research contexts. The aim is to reflect on the everyday practices of working with data and to discuss how these practices can enhance quality, transparency, visibility, and collaboration in educational research. In this sense, Open Science is understood as a framework that makes research processes and results more accessible, traceable, and reusable – for science, practice, and society. Under the theme of data literacy, contributions that explore the relationship between data and civil society, and the emerging skill requirements accompanying the growing openness of data, are also invited. While Open Science principles can provide guidance, this call focuses on practical and disciplinary perspectives and challenges. In addition, contributions exploring infrastructures and support mechanisms for Open Science are explicitly welcome.
In addition to symposia and individual papers, we explicitly invite contributions in other interactive and collaborative formats such as working groups, barcamps, round tables or as well joint sessions with other networks. We also encourage presenters to make their presentations and results openly available. To support this, Network 12 will provide a dedicated instance (at Zenodo) where contributions and materials related to this call can be shared and accessed. Accepted contributions will also have the opportunity to develop their abstract into a full paper and publish it in the envisioned Journal of Open Research in Education of NW 12 at the time of the conference.
Contact Person(s)
Sonja Bayer s.bayer(at)dipf.de
Marieke Heers marieke.heers(at)fors.unil.ch
Tamara Diederichs diederichs(at)uni-koblenz.de