Print version Recommend this page Press release
39/ 2011
Bonn, 23.08.2011
BIBB Research Data Centre receives a positive evaluation from experts - user oriented service will be expanded further
The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training has arranged for the free service provided by its Research Data Centre (BIBB-FDZ) to be evaluated by experts via an online survey. The BIBB-FDZ makes BIBB research data available for non-commercial external academic research purposes. The result of the evaluation is that this provision is well received by its target audience and is assessed positively. Although this particularly applies in respect of data made available from surveys of persons, data and methodological reports and guides, a positive view is also taken of data access, the Internet presence and the data records themselves. "This pleasing evaluation from the sociologists, economists and educationalists surveyed confirms that we are very much on the right road with the data services we make available for VET research and the resultant academic research networking which takes place", states BIBB Director of Research Professor Reinhold Weiß. "This means that BIBB has successfully implemented the recommendation issued by the Research Council in 2005."
Most of the survey participants were made up of universities and other research institutes focusing mainly on research issues relating to vocational education and training, the labour market and education. There was a high level of awareness of the BIBB-FDZ amongst this group of approximately 80 percent. Around a third of the institutes surveyed have already worked with BIBB-FDZ data. The results also demonstrate that, alongside data access itself, the provision of data related services ranging from personal guidance to literature references is an indispensable component for use of the service.
BIBB will use the results and suggestions emerging from the survey as a basis for expanding data provision and for establishing a meta data portal in order to facilitate research on the part of users and to add the customary occupational, educational and regional classifications to the data records. A further objective is to increase awareness and use of the data records by educational researchers and business education practitioners. "In adopting this approach, we will meet the interests and requirements of our users and continue to expand our position as a competence centre for vocational training", emphasises Professor Weiß.
The BIBB-FDZ commenced operations in April 2008 by preparing micro data for external academic research purposes. It currently manages 126 user agreements for external research projects in which more than 220 researchers are working with the BIBB data.
The data provision includes the Employee Survey conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) in 2006, the 2006 Transitional Study, BIBB school leaver surveys, the 2009 Continuing Training Monitor and the 2007 Cost-Benefit Survey of company-based vocational education and training. The BIBB-FDZ also provides detailed descriptions of the respective data record structures, of contents, of data collection methods and of data preparation in the form of its "Data and Methodological Reports".
Last year, external academic researchers sent the BIBB-FDZ 40 publications containing results of their re-analyses of the BIBB data. Academic research publications range from dissertations to project/research reports and extend to encompass articles in edited journals.
Further (German language) information on the BIBB-FDZ user survey is available at www.bibb.de/bibb-fdz-nutzerumfrage
Contact partners at BIBB:
- Anett Friedrich, e-mail: anett.friedrich@bibb.de
- Dr. Daniela Rohrbach-Schmidt, e-mail: rohrbach@bibb.de
Reprint free of charge - voucher copy requested.
