Making Data Gaps Visible: Designing a Feedback Mechanism for Research Data Management

Forschungsthema/Bereich

User Research, Digital Platforms, Research Data Management

Typ der Abschlussarbeit

Bachelor / Master

Startzeitpunkt

-

Bewerbungsschluss

30.04.2026

Dauer der Arbeit

-

Beschreibung

Many digital platforms are good at storing and displaying what already exists, but much worse at showing what is missing. This is also true for research data platforms. In energy research, scientists often need specific datasets to answer questions about electricity grids, heat demand, storage, or climate policy. Yet when data are missing, too coarse, or hard to find, this information usually disappears into personal frustration, informal conversations, or one-off emails instead of becoming structured knowledge.

This creates an interesting design problem:

How can a data platform not only manage existing datasets, but also learn systematically from what its users are missing?

This thesis addresses exactly that question. It focuses on feedback mechanisms in Research Data Management (RDM) systems that allow users to report missing or insufficient data and connect these reports to existing datasets or platform workflows. The goal is to move from passive repositories to interactive, learning infrastructures.

Objectives of the Thesis

The aim of this thesis is to design and evaluate a mechanism that enables researchers to provide feedback on data gaps when interacting with RDM services within the NFDI4Energy ecosystem.

The work will include the following tasks:

• Review existing approaches for identifying and documenting data gaps
• Design of a feedback mechanism that allows researchers to report and link data gaps when using RDM services (e.g., after downloading or submitting datasets).
• Develop a prototype or conceptual implementation of the mechanism within an RDM context (e.g., the NFDI4Energy Leibniz Data Manager)
• Evaluate the approach using empirical methods such as an online experiment or semi-structured interviews with researchers.

References

[1] Speck, C., Schulz, T., & Weinhardt, C. (2026). D2.5.1.2 Mapping Energy Data Gaps and Reuse Barriers: Evidence and Implications for NFDI4Energy (Version V1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18231310
[2] Wiese, F., Schlecht, I., Bunke, W. D., Gerbaulet, C., Hirth, L., Jahn, M., ... & Schill, W. P. (2019). Open Power System Data–Frictionless data for electricity system modelling. Applied Energy, 236, 401-409.
[3] Hirth, L., Mühlenpfordt, J., & Bulkeley, M. (2018). The ENTSO-E Transparency Platform–A review of Europe’s most ambitious electricity data platform. Applied energy, 225, 1054-1067.

Voraussetzung

Voraussetzungen an Studierende

• • Interest in data management, digital platforms, or user-centered system design
• • Basic knowledge of empirical research methods (qualitative or quantitative)
• • Experience with conceptual design, UX, prototyping, or platform thinking is helpful, but not required

Studiengangsbereiche

• Wirtschafts- und Rechtswissenschaften
  Wirtschaftsinformatik
  Technische Volkswirtschaftslehre
  Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen
  Digital Economics

Betreuung

Titel, Vorname, Name

Philipp Fritz

Organisationseinheit

WIN

E-Mail Adresse

philipp.fritz@kit.edu

Link zur eigenen Homepage/Personenseite

Website

Bewerbung per E-Mail

Bewerbungsunterlagen

• Lebenslauf
• Notenauszug

E-Mail Adresse für die Bewerbung
Senden Sie die oben genannten Bewerbungsunterlagen bitte per Mail an philipp.fritz@kit.edu


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