Inquiring Open Science in educational research: a comparative analysis of research data availability in four selected journals (2018–2023)

Abstract This preregistered study investigates the availability of research data in articles from four selected educational research journals over a five-year period. Among the journals examined are two national (German) and two international journals from the years 2018, 2020, and 2023. The study focuses on changes in data-sharing practices as responses to evolving research data policies and infrastructural developments. Findings indicate that the availability of research data has increased substantially over time, with more recent articles providing data more frequently compared to earlier publications. A key observation is the positive correlation between journal-level data transparency standards and actual data availability. This suggests that explicit editorial guidelines and the introduction of Open Science badges effectively incentivize transparency. In contrast, institutional research data policies were found to have no significant impact on data-sharing practices. Finally, the study found no statistically significant evidence that the use of persistent identifiers (e.g., DOI) improves long-term data accessibility, although the effect estimates suggest a possible positive association that warrants further investigation. Overall, the results highlight the importance of clear editorial policies, the introduction of Open Science badges as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen incentive structures, and continued meta-scientific research aimed at monitoring and optimizing research infrastructures. These combined efforts are essential for advancing the practice of open data access in educational research, ensuring that data becomes a lasting resource that supports transparency, replicability, and scientific progress.