If a researcher wishes to continue using research data they have collected when they move to a different institution, this may be prohibited by former superiors such as the group leader or institute management.

Usage might be prohibited (i.e. actual access to the research data might be prevented) because the researcher’s former working group or a related working group is using the same research data, thereby giving rise to a competitive situation. The argument here might be that, according to good research practice, research data should remain in the place where it was collected. This could then be interpreted to mean that, in accordance with the principles of good research practice, only the institution at which the research data was collected would be allowed to continue conducting research using this data. In general, the legitimate interests of both sides must be taken into account and a fair balance must be sought if possible. The question of data usage or access to research data depends less on who legally “owns” the research data – this is usually the institution where it was generated – than on the fact that the person who was responsible for implementation of the project in which the research data was generated or processed should have the chance to continue and complete the process they started without this resulting in an obviously unreasonable disadvantage to the other side.

See also

The word “use” in the sentence “In particular, the researcher who collected the data is entitled to use them.”(externer Link)