Objective: The article contains results from a survey conducted among medical professionals regarding the way in which they handle research data in practice. The aim of the survey was to identify potential for improved data orientation and to ascertain starting points for support tools. The results were to be used to develop creativity-promoting computer-based tools. Method: The empirical basis was provided by guideline-based qualitative interviews and a quantitatively structured online survey. The interviews were partly transcribed and evaluated using content analysis. Results: Data analyses are primarily conducted in a target-oriented manner, i.e. on the basis of a hypothesis, with data centres representing an important source of reference for the surveyed medical professionals. The means used for analysing data indicate individual working practices, with the analyses often being conducted at the medical professionals’ desks and towards the end of the working day. The results of analyses are often used in publications but less used for research applications.Conclusion: The results lead to the conclusion that methods for exploring data that are as easily accessible as possible with as few barriers as possible need to be offered. A prerequisite for a shift from hypothesis-oriented research to data-oriented research would appear to be a link with data centres that offer processed/prepared and anonymised data. Further data sources and other secondary information sources should also be able to be integrated. Complex visualisations can likewise support data-oriented working practices if they are offered as an option.