24–25 Nov 2026
Europe/Berlin timezone

User Perspectives on Research Data Infrastructures: Results of the DZHW Science Survey 2026

24 Nov 2026, 16:51
1m
Otto-Braun-Saal (Stabi Berlin, Potsdamer Straße)

Otto-Braun-Saal

Stabi Berlin, Potsdamer Straße

Posters Posters

Speaker

Judith Hartstein (DZHW)

Description

How do researchers across fields in Germany perceive potential benefits of the NFDI and its basic services? What kinds of support do researchers need when using research data infrastructures? And how do they get relevant information? To answer these questions, we use the DZHW Science Survey 2026 to investigate user perspectives on research data infrastructures, the NFDI and its basic services.

As part of the impact assessment of Base4NFDI, we investigate user perspectives on Base4NFDI since 2023. Following up on the Trend Survey on Research Data Infrastructures 2024 (Hartstein & Blümel, 2024), we contributed a survey module to the most recent DZHW Science Survey, a representatively sampled trend survey among researchers in Germany which yielded 15,000 responses overall. Apart from demographical variables (e.g. discipline, status group, gender), the DZHW Science Survey features questions on a wide variety of topics.

The survey module on research data infrastructures specifically addresses:
- Use and maintenance of research data infrastructures across disciplines,
- Disciplinary discourses on and needs for support with research data infrastructures,
- Recognition of NFDI basic services and NFDI consortia and their information channels, and
- Software and AI practices as well as perceived potential of the NFDI in solving challenges with AI in Science.

The results of the DZHW Science Survey will be paralleled with the earlier Trend Survey results about changes in practices, discourses, and needs for support. Thereby, the analysis informs the further development of the NFDI and its basic services as well as policy development in the field of research data infrastructures.

background Base4NFDI, Measure 4.3

Authors

Judith Hartstein (DZHW) Alexander Schniedermann (DZHW) Nathalie Schwichtenberg (DZHW) Clemens Blümel (DZHW)

Presentation materials