CORF®: Collective Educational Research Facility - Design of a Platform Supporting Educational Research as an Integral Joint Effort of Researchers and Teaching Professionals

Abstract

In educational research, like in other research fields, there is a growing call for sharing data and results. The public interest in results is clear, and much of the research is done using public money. Besides this, educational research a gap exists between the research community and research outcomes on one hand, and secondary school teachers, schools and educational practice on the other. CORF® (in English: Collective Educational Research Facility) is a web-based platform that supports the sharing of research instruments and research data within and across research projects. CORF® community members may be professional researchers as well as educational practitioners. In this contribution, the concept of CORF® is presented and its major design characteristics are outlined. The system was realized as an internet platform and employed by various researchers, teachers, and student teachers. A general evaluation and three use-cases are presented leading to conclusions on the strength and weaknesses of the platform and conditions for adequate use in practice.