Getting started with data sharing: Advice for researchers in education

Researchers in the education sciences, like those in other disciplines, are increasingly encountering requirements and incentives to make the data supporting empirical research available to others. However, the process of preparing and sharing research data can be daunting. The present article aims to support researchers who are beginning to think about integrating data sharing into their research workflows, and includes: a brief review of the current landscape of data sharing amongst education and special education researchers; a discussion of the benefits of data sharing; a curated list of existing resources designed to help researchers in education and related disciplines; a summary of the steps to data sharing throughout the research lifecycle; and responses to several common questions researchers may have when it comes to sharing research data for the first time.