A survey on the dissemination and usage of research data management and related tools in German engineering sciences

As the amount of collected and analysed data increases, a need for data management arises to ensure its usability. This also applies in research. This challenge can be addressed by Research Data Management (RDM), which brings clear focus on the reusability of data. To understand the status quo of the application of research data management in engineering sciences in Germany, as well as possible challenges and improvement chances, a survey was conducted over the last quartal of 2020. Over 168 (n=168) researchers from the engineering sciences in Germany provided their view via a questionnaire that contains 216 question items. The results give intel on the interviewees knowledge and perceived relevance of research data management in their daily research activities. For instance, the application of research data management related tasks, data sharing with third parties, usage of different tools, and the involvement of different file formats were part of the survey. The survey closed with questions regarding RDM specifications, support structures, and questions on reasons that could prevent researchers from adapting sustainable RDM. This paper presents the results of the study, providing an overview over the current RDM in engineering and pointing out possible measures and strategies to foster it, namely the integration of guidance and education for research data management. Along the paper, we publish the collected data set to enable further analysis and reuse (e.g. for extended statistical analysis).