Qualitative Data Preparation and Use Jack Kneeshaw ESDS Psychology Department-U of Essex 4 December 2003

ESDS Qualidata

Qualitative data collections Data from National Research Council (ESRC) individual and programme research grant awards Data from ‘classic’ social science studies Other funders/sources

Types of qualitative data Diverse data types: in-depth interviews ; semi- structured interviews; focus groups; oral histories; mixed methods data; open-ended survey questions; case notes/records of meetings; diaries/ research diaries Multi-media: audio, video, photos and text (most common is interview transcriptions) Formats: digital, paper, analogue audio-visual Data structures - differ across different document types

Classic data Peter Townsend – Poverty and Katherine Buildings Paul Thompson – Edwardians National Social Policy and Social Change Archive

Other collections Mental Health of Chinese Women in Britain, Green Severalls Hospital: Interviews for 'Madness in its Place‘- Gittens Urban Regeneration, Mental Health and Quality of Life in Wythenshawe, South Manchester, Huxley

ESDS Qualidata: key activities user support for depositing data online access to qualitative data training activities to support secondary analysis exemplars and case studies of re-use enhancing data - user guides and digital samplers

Good archiving = good research Consent, copyright and related issues clarified Thorough documentation Well organised and labelled files Major stages of research recorded Consistent, well-formatted transcriptions done

Online access to qualitative data providing direct access to collection content –supports more powerful resource discovery –greater scope for searching and browsing content of data (supplementary to higher level study-related metadata) –since users can search and explore content directly… can retrieve data immediately providing access to qualitative data via common interface (Edwardians Online) supporting tools for searching, retrieval, and analysis across multiple datasets

Diverse uses for existing data Enrich context description How was it really done documentation of methods –Team discussions about coding –What, exactly, is “semi-structured”? Augment primary data –Historical comparative case –Expand sample size Datasets for teaching

Exemplars and case studies of re-use providing guidance on data resources and how to re-use them overview of ways of re-using data case studies of re-use including reflections and commentary full bibliography of re-use articles online ‘packaged’ training resources user support and training programme

Enhanced user guides and digital samplers providing a better understanding of the study and research methods enhanced users guides – detailed notes on study methodology and re-use; ‘behind the scenes’ interviews with depositors; FAQs thematic pages – combining interviews digital samplers of classic sociology collections

Finding Qualidata ESDS Qualidata | Introduction

Supplemental slides Emergency screen dumps!

Qualidata Online

Qualidata Online: Edwardians Online – Phase I Creation of a digital multimedia resource that integrates a wealth of existing primary and secondary materials: a catalogue of 444 interview summaries 5 full electronic interview transcripts thematic browsing of interview transcripts a collection of digital sound clips a set of contextual images of Edwardian life background information and press reviews on the original Paul Thompson study details of publications based upon secondary studies of the collection an account of the digitization methodology