Crack the Code, Unlock the Knowledge: An On-site RDM Escape Room Experience for Researchers

Imagine you are at an open science conference. You all meet in one room, bags are hanging from the chairs, the conference programs and key cords are spread out on the tables, posters are lining the walls. The conference begins with a remote keynote speech by Professor Pen. Everyone watches the live video stream with interest. Professor Pen starts to speak on spectacular findings, until a hacker suddenly interrupts the video transmission, preventing Professor Pen from sharing his important research findings and – even more importantly – the underlying data with the world. The only way to save the data: The conference participants must publish the data within 45 minutes so that it is not irrevocably destroyed by the hacker. The clock is ticking... The playful transfer of information in research data management (RDM) has long been regarded as an effective way of imparting knowledge. More and more examples such as LEGO®: Metadata for reproducibility, the Open Science Game, an escape card game or online escape rooms such as the Data Horror Escape Room show the increasing popularity of this approach. The feedback after implementing such gamification approaches has been consistently positive. The RDM Escape Room presented here joins this collection of examples and combines the advantages of these approaches into an on-site escape room with a focus on RDM within an open science environment. In addition to the playful transfer of knowledge, this escape room functions as a team-building exercise by imparting a shared sense of achievement. The one-hour escape room presented here can be played flexibly by existing or newly formed groups, with a maximum of 8–10 participants. The escape room is aimed at beginners who want to playfully engage with RDM topics and terms for the first time. A German and an English version with instructions for reuse and organizational details are available under a CC BY 4.0 license. The original escape room was developed by colleagues at the University of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and further developed by Research Data Services at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Some of the materials provided were adapted to the requirements in Germany. For example, one puzzle dealt with the "Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity", which does not exist in Germany. Instead, a task on good scientific practice was developed. In this adapted escape room, tasks are therefore centered on the topics of open access, data management plans, the research data lifecycle, good scientific practice, the FAIR principles and open data. In principle, the tasks can be exchanged or supplemented at will, so that other topics, e.g., topics specifically relevant to the institution, could also be integrated. In addition to the tasks, it is also possible to use red herrings to draw attention to local RDM offers, such as training courses or general information about open science, with the help of advertising material. For example, the local open access and research data policies are hidden in bags and local training offers are hung up as posters and integrated into the game as red herrings.