Carefully Curating Qualitative Data: The Case for Qualitative Data Sharing and Reuse
Location
DeSantis Room 1047
Format Type
Plenary
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
17-1-2020 2:45 PM
End Date
17-1-2020 3:05 PM
Abstract
Data sharing and re-use are becoming the norm in quantitative research. At the same time, significant skepticism still accompanies the sharing and reuse of qualitative research data on both ethical and epistemological grounds. Nevertheless, there is growing interest in the re-use of qualitative data for research (see Goodman, Lester & O’Reilly call for a special issue in TQR), as well as teaching (see e.g. Saldaña’s workshop at this congress using “authentic data”). In this presentation we make the case that data qualitative data can be shared ethically and we present ways in which they can be shared in a way that maximizes the potential for re-use. Based on the work of the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR), we describe the role of curation, understood as a collaborative process between researchers and data archivists, in ensuring that data are shared responsibly, in a way that makes them discoverable for re-use, and in a way that preserves context and detail crucial for effective re-use. Rather than taking the maximalist position that all qualitative can be shared and re-used, we suggest pragmatic ways in which common issues with sharing and re-use can be addressed. Throughout our talk, we employ examples from QDR’s practice to illustrate.
Keywords
Re-use, Domain repository, Data sharing, Curation, Sensitive Data
Carefully Curating Qualitative Data: The Case for Qualitative Data Sharing and Reuse
DeSantis Room 1047
Data sharing and re-use are becoming the norm in quantitative research. At the same time, significant skepticism still accompanies the sharing and reuse of qualitative research data on both ethical and epistemological grounds. Nevertheless, there is growing interest in the re-use of qualitative data for research (see Goodman, Lester & O’Reilly call for a special issue in TQR), as well as teaching (see e.g. Saldaña’s workshop at this congress using “authentic data”). In this presentation we make the case that data qualitative data can be shared ethically and we present ways in which they can be shared in a way that maximizes the potential for re-use. Based on the work of the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR), we describe the role of curation, understood as a collaborative process between researchers and data archivists, in ensuring that data are shared responsibly, in a way that makes them discoverable for re-use, and in a way that preserves context and detail crucial for effective re-use. Rather than taking the maximalist position that all qualitative can be shared and re-used, we suggest pragmatic ways in which common issues with sharing and re-use can be addressed. Throughout our talk, we employ examples from QDR’s practice to illustrate.
Comments
Alphabetical list of authors on this submission and for an expanded paper proposal for the call below:
"Call for Papers, Special Issue of The Qualitative Report “Diverse Approaches to Qualitative Data Analysis for Applied Research” Guest Editors: Noah Goodman (Center for Children & Technology), Jessica Nina Lester (Indiana University) & Michelle O’Reilly (University of Leicester)"
Sebastian Karcher, Associate Director, Qualitative Data Repository (QDR), Syracuse University
Dessi Kirilova, Curation Specialist, QDR, Syracuse University
Christiane Pagé, Data Specialist, QDR, and Associate Director, Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry, Syracuse University
Nicholas Weber, Co-Technical Director, QDR, Assistant Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington
QDR is a domain repository, funded through the generous support of the National Science Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and institutional members. https://qdr.syr.edu/