About the FDZ-DZHW

The Research Data Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (FDZ-DZHW) is part of the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW). It was established in the years 2015-2017 with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). On 1 June 2017, the FDZ-DZHW went into regular operation; it is funded on a permanent basis and is supported by a scientific advisory board of experts from higher education and science research as well as from research data infrastructure.

Mission

The FDZ-DZHW archives data from the multidisciplinary field of higher education research and science studies for the long term and makes them  available for secondary use in a documented form. The overarching goals are to provide diverse data and to sustainably improve the research data infrastructure in the area of higher education research and science studies.

The primary target group for use of the data comprises the national and international scientific communities (researchers, teachers, and students) in the field of higher education research and science studies as well as related disciplines. But the data are also open to other groups, provided that their intentions of use are in accord with the intended purposes. The search portal makes the documentation of the data available to the general public.

The FDZ-DZHW follows international standards to make research data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable in accordance with FAIR principles. In doing so, compliance with legal principles and research ethics as well as integrity in archiving is a basic prerequisite.

In December 2017, the FDZ-DZHW was accredited by the German Data Forum (RatSWD) and is operating according to the criteria of the RatSWD (German). Since 2019, the FDZ-DZHW has been associated member of the German Network of Educational Research Data (VerbundFDB). Since 2020, it has also been involved in the further development of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) in the Consortium for the Social, Behavioural, Educational and Economic Sciences (KonsortSWD).

Collection Policy

The data stored in the FDZ-DZHW originate from DZHW surveys on the one hand and from research projects in higher education research and science studies conducted outside the DZHW on the other.

The profile includes data from quantitative as well as qualitative studies, currently primarily survey data, analysis scripts and related data as well as interview transcripts, partly linked in mixed-methods studies. An expansion to include other types of data is envisaged for the medium term. If a research project aims to archive other types of data, feasibility can be determined together with the FDZ-DZHW.

The data gathered come primarily from Germany, but international data are also included, especially for international comparative research.

The data must be unobjectionable in terms of data protection and copyright law; they must be transparent (e.g., through appropriate documentation) and technically readable.

If the FDZ-DZHW is offered data for archiving fit better into some other research data centre’s scope, alternative research data centres can be recommended, especially from the German Network of Educational Research Data (VerbundFDB).

FDZ-DZHW and partners

KonsortSWD: Consortium for the Social, Behavioural, Educational and Economic Sciences

Project Leader: Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf (gesis)
Duration: 01 October 2020 - 30 September 2025
Funded by: German Research Foundation (DFG)

Motives, Opportunities, Limits and Requirements for the Archiving and Secondary Use of different Data Types in higher Education and Science Studies (MoGAADat)

Project Leader: Florence Baillet
Duration: 01 December 2019 - 28 February 2022
Funded by: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Measures to increase the Efficiency of the Research Data Centre of the DZHW in the Areas of Data Ingest, User Requests and Communication

Project Leader: Dr. Andreas Daniel
Duration: 01 June 2017 - 30 November 2019
Funded by: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Foundation of a Research data Centre for higher Education Research and Science Studies. Development and Data Preparation

Project Leader: Dr. Karsten Stephan
Duration: 1 March 2015 - 31 July 2017
Funded by: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)