News archive

In the Scientific Use Files of Starting Cohort 1 (Newborns), a critical data error has occurred in the vocabulary competence (PPVT). Affected are, according to current knowledge, the variables von6_sc3, von8_sc3, von10_sc3 (Vocabulary: sum) in the dataset SC1_xTargetCompetencies. Unfortunately, it cannot be ruled out that the use of these variables leads to incorrect results.

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 6 are now available in version 14.0.0 for scientific use.

The new version 3.1.2 of the R package NEPSscaling includes changes due to adjustments in the Scientific Use Files and updates in underlying R packages. All available combinations of starting cohort, competence domain and survey wave can be retrieved with the package’s function „currently_implemented()" in NEPSscaling. In the RemoteNEPS environment, the R package will be usable from September 19, 2023.

Further informationen on Plausible Values

A new version of linked survey data from the National Educational Panel Study of Starting Cohort 5 (First-Year Students) with administrative data of the Institute for Employment Research (NEPS-SC5-ADIAB) is now available for research. With the update, the data horizon of the administrative information has been widened by two years up to and including 2021. In addition, the NEPS data now cover up to wave 18.

Further information on the IAB-FDZ website

The biannual newsletter “LIfBi data” provides regular information about data releases, events, and other news from the Research Data Center of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (RDC LIfBi). The newsletter can be received by e-mail; subscribing to and unsubscribing from the mailing list is possible via our website.

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In July 2023, a total of 31 researchers from 14 countries met for one week at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) for the 2nd COORDINATE Summer School. Organized by the Research Data Center (FDZ-LIfBi), the event focused on learning special analysis techniques for evaluating, in particular, the competency and episodic data of the National Education Panel Study (NEPS). In addition to an introduction to the framework concept of the NEPS study and the structure of the scientific-use files, the program included a series of guided exercises on data preparation and analysis as well as a presentation on sequence data analysis. The program concluded with a presentation of the research ideas developed during the week.

A new version of linked survey data from the National Educational Panel Study of Starting Cohort 1 (Newborns) with administrative data of the Institute for Employment Research (NEPS-SC1-ADIAB) is now available for research. With the update, the data horizon of the administrative information has been widened by two years up to and including 2021. In addition, the NEPS data now cover up to wave 10.

Further information on the IAB-FDZ website

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 5 are now available in version 18.0.0 for scientific use.

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 4 are now available in version 13.0.0 for scientific use.

An updated data version 12.1.0 for the NEPS Starting Cohort 3 is now available for scientific use.

The "Student Teacher Panel" (LAP) project has created a unique data collection that provides extensive information on the educational and occupational paths of (prospective) teachers. The data cover a period of 9 years and allow a detailed analysis of teacher training and the professional situation of teachers in Germany. They can be used to develop recommendations for practice and educational policy. A recent publication in the Journal of Open Psychology Data describes the project, the data, and their research potential.

The 8th International NEPS Conference will take place on November 9 and 10, 2023 as a symposium on the topic „Survey Data Linked to Administrative Data: NEPS-ADIAB & Co.“ in presence at LIfBi. Registration for free participation will be possible via the website starting July 1. Abstracts for oral and poster presentations can be submitted until July 31.

A new open access book titled "Education, Competence Development and Career Trajectories" on the DFG Priority Program 1646 "Education as a Lifelong Process. Analysing Data of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS)" has now been published. The anthology was edited by Sabine Weinert, Gwendolin J. Blossfeld and Hans-Peter Blossfeld and combines 18 contributions based on the analysis of longitudinal data from the National Educational Panel Study.

For young people, social media such as Instagram or WhatsApp are the communication tools of choice. A new evaluation using data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) on information and communication technology (ICT) competencies of 15- to 18-year-olds has now provided surprising findings: social activities such as chatting or sharing pictures and videos do not have a positive effect on competencies in using digital communication and information technologies. On the contrary, too intensive use of socially interactive services can even lead to lower digital skills overall among young people. In contrast, there is good news with regard to the differences between girls and boys.

The biannual newsletter “LIfBi data” provides regular information about data releases, events, and other news from the Research Data Center of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (RDC LIfBi). The newsletter can be received by e-mail; subscribing to and unsubscribing from the mailing list is possible via our website.

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New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 1 are now available in version 10.0.0 for scientific use.

NEPS-SC3-ADIAB combines the survey data of respondents from NEPS Starting Cohort 3 (Grade 5) who have left the general education system in the meantime on the individual level with administrative data of the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The new data package is now available to researchers for scientific analyses.

NEPS-ADIAB data portfolio

The 7th International NEPS Conference of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) took place again in virtual format this year on December 5 and 6. About 300 scientists from Germany and abroad met for exchange. On the first day of the conference, the "NEPS Publication Award" was again presented for outstanding papers based on NEPS data - this year it had been awarded to Barcelona and Dublin. The two-day conference was organized by the team of the LIfBi Research Data Center (FDZ-LIfBi).

An updated data version 9.1.1 for the NEPS Starting Cohort 1 is now available for scientific use.

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 3 are now available in version 12.0.0 for scientific use.

Surveys within the new National Education Panel (NEPS) starting cohort 8, with the study title "Education for Tomorrow's World," began on schedule in October. It is the first wave of surveys among the new participants and is intended to collect important data on the future of education. The focus is on fifth-grade students and their teachers. In the coming years and decades, they will be accompanied on their further educational trajectories within the framework of NEPS.

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 5 are now available in version 17.0.0 for scientific use.

The program of the 7th International NEPS Conference of LIfBi with more than 50 presentations, several posters, a keynote by Prof. Regina T. Riphahn, Ph.D., and an honorary lecture by the winners of the "NEPS Publication Award" has been finalized. The conference will be held in virtual format on December 5 and 6, 2022.

The network partners and employees in the NEPS network mourn the unexpected passing of Dr. Michael Kanders on August 22.

The biannual newsletter “LIfBi data” provides regular information about data releases, events, and other news from the Research Data Center of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (RDC LIfBi). The newsletter can be received by e-mail; subscribing to and unsubscribing from the mailing list is possible via our website.

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Data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 2 are now available in version 10.0.0 for scientific use.

With the release of the Scientific Use File of the panel study "Health Behavior and Injuries in School Age" (Gesundheitsverhalten und Unfallgeschehen im Schulalter, GUS), a first data package generated entirely outside the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories has been integrated into LIfBi's research data infrastructure. The acquisition took place within the framework of a project funding by the Consortium for the Social, Behavioral, Educational and Economic Sciences (KonsortSWD).

The National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) invites all interested researchers to submit proposals for new questions within the framework of the the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). This is the second time that the largest long-term education study in Germany has opened itself up to external content. This year's "Call for Modules" is thematically narrowed: Applications are being sought for target dimensions of education that expand the existing survey programme in order to collect data on the long-term effects of education over the life course after the end of the narrow-meshed surveying of the participants. Proposals can be submitted until the end of October 2022.

An updated data version 9.1.0 for the NEPS Starting Cohort 1 is now available for scientific use.

The new version 3.0.0 of the R package NEPSscaling allows to perform independent estimation of Plausible Values (PV) using a graphical user interface. This interface provides additional tools for visualizing the estimated PV and the imputations of background data. Furthermore, the estimation of PV for grammar in Starting Cohort 2 as well as the introductory usage examples were updated. All available combinations of Starting Cohort, competence domain and assessment wave can be retrieved with the package’s function “currently_implemented()”. The R package and all other documents can be downloaded from the NEPS website.

Data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 6 are now available in version 13.0.0 for scientific use.

Data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 5 are now available in version 16.0.0 for scientific use.

By the end of the first quarter of 2022, the number of researchers who have registered to use the data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) has increased to 3,000. A recent survey among data users also revealed a high level of satisfaction with the data offered by the NEPS. 94 percent of those surveyed stated that they would recommend the data to others for use based on their own experiences.

New versions of linked survey data from the National Educational Panel Study with administrative data of the Institute for Employment Research are now available for Starting Cohort 4 (Grade 9, NEPS-SC4-ADIAB) and Starting Cohort 6 (Adults, NEPS-SC6-ADIAB). With the update, the data horizon of the administrative information has been widened by two years up to and including 2019. In addition, the NEPS data now extend to wave 12 (SC4 and SC6).

Researchers who are already registered to use NEPS-ADIAB can apply informally for an update of the corresponding data package by sending an e-mail to the Research Data Center of the Federal Employment Agency at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB-FDZ).

Further information on the IAB-FDZ website

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 1 are now available in version 9.0.0 for scientific use.

The biannual newsletter „LIfBi data“ provides regular information about data releases, events, and other news from the Research Data Center of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (RDC LIfBi). The newsletter can be received by e-mail; subscribing to and unsubscribing from the mailing list is possible via our website.

To the newsletter mailing list

This year, the Research Data Center at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) is again conducting a series of German- and English-language training courses on the data portfolio of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). The offer consists of several basic and advanced modules, which can be attended separately. All events take place virtually via Zoom. Participation is free of charge; registration can be made informally by e-mail.

For the two cohorts – children and adolescents – of the study "Refugees in the German Educational System" (ReGES), the new data from the third survey wave are now available for scientific analyses.

An updated data version 12.1.0 for the NEPS Starting Cohort 6 is now available for scientific use.

An updated data version 11.0.1 for the NEPS Starting Cohort 3 is now available for scientific use.

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 4 are now available in version 12.0.0 for scientific use.

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 3 are now available in version 11.0.0 for scientific use.

New versions of linked survey data from the National Educational Panel Study with administrative data of the Institute for Employment Research are now available for Starting Cohort 1 (Newborns, NEPS-SC1-ADIAB) and Starting Cohort 5 (First-year students, NEPS-SC5-ADIAB). With the update, the data horizon of the administrative information has been widened by two years to 2019. In addition, the NEPS data now cover up to and including wave 8 (SC1) and wave 15 (SC5). Researchers who are already registered to use NEPS-ADIAB can apply informally for an update of the corresponding data package by sending an e-mail to the Research Data Center of the Federal Employment Agency at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB-FDZ).

Further information on the IAB-FDZ website

Under the heading „The National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) and Methodological Innovations in Longitudinal Large-Scale Assessments“ contributions are sought from a variety of disciplines that address methods of data collection and analysis in educational studies. The call for papers will close on November 30, 2021. Proposals for contributions can be submitted until then.

The first Research Data Center (FDZ) in Germany was founded 20 years ago. On the occasion of this anniversary, the KonsortSWD team at LIfBi organized a scientific conference, which took place in a hybrid format simultaneously in the Spiegelsaal in Bamberg and online. Experts from the scientific community took a look at the development of the research data infrastructure over the past 20 years and discussed current trends and potential for development. A central theme of the event was calls on policymakers to create the legal framework to improve the work of research data centers and facilitate linkages between existing and new data sets.

An updated data version 12.0.1 for the NEPS Starting Cohort 6 is now available for scientific use.

An updated data version 8.0.1 for the NEPS Starting Cohort 1 is now available for scientific use.

Children of single fathers have the lowest educational success – this (in brief) is one of the results that Wolfgang Ludwig-Mayerhofer, Nico Stawarz and Alexandra Wicht (University of Siegen) have elaborated in an award-winning publication. The work focusses on the educational resources that young people growing up in different family constellations may have at their disposal. It is based on the extensive data sets of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) and has now been awarded the 2nd Prize of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation for Social Science Essays of the Year 2020.

Older adults have been the focus of attention since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic - as a particularly vulnerable risk group, the highest priority group for vaccinations, and in discussions about the consequences of social isolation. By analizing data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), it has now been possible for the first time to examine the living situation of adults during the first lockdown in Germany, differentiated by age group, with a particular focus on the satisfaction and future expectations of those over 65. It turns out that older adults share the same concerns, especially about the fact that the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. In contrast, they are much less likely than younger adults to expect serious financial problems for themselves or their loved ones.

New data for the NEPS Starting Cohort 6 are now available in version 12.0.0 for scientific use.