Archived Qualitative Data:Accessing, Searching and Using

Libby BishopESDS Qualidata

Ph.D. Methods Mini-Course

30 January 2004

Timetable

• 10-11 Overview of Qualidata

• 11-12 Diverse uses of archival materials

• 2-3 Hands-on session-PC Lab D (4N.3.9)

• 3-4 Customized searches, individual projects, questions

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

• Focus on DIGITAL Collections, but also facilitate paper-based archiving

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 datasets

• Peter Townsend – Poverty, old ageand Katherine Buildings

• Paul Thompson – oral history and Edwardians

• Ray Pahl –Hertfordshire Villages studies

• National Social Policy and Social Change Archive (see handout)

Additional collections

• Barbara Lloyd – Girl’s and Boy’s Body Image Concerns

• Naomi Connelly – Race Equality in Social Services Departments

• Jan Pahl – Coping with Marital Violence

Yet more collections

• R. Pahl and C. Wallace - The Social and Political Implications of Household Work Strategies

• Annette Lawson - Adultery

• Mildred Blaxter – Mothers and Daughters

Diverse uses for existing data

• Enrich context description• How was it really done

documentation of methods– Mysteries of coding– What, exactly, is “semi-structured”?

• Augment data you collect– Complementary analysis

• Expand sample size• Historical or other comparisons

– Supplementary analysis-ask new questions

• Datasets for teaching

Good archiving = good research

• Thorough documentation

• Well organised and labelled files

• Major stages and decisions of research recorded

• Consent, copyright and related issues clarified

Supporting Documentation• Examples

– Funding application– Description of methodology– Communication with informants on confidentiality– Coding schemes / themes– Technical details of equipment – Interview schedules– End of award report– Documentation from CAQDAS software packages, e.g.,

analytical memos– Bibliographies, resulting publications

• Anything that adds insight or aids understanding and secondary usage

Consent in Qualitative Research

• Obtained

• Clear and coherent - Handouts

• Reflects needs and views of all

• Supports archiving and re-use

• Consent that works in practice

Transcribing Research 1

• Integrated into the ongoing research

• Full transcriptions or summaries

• Avoid stockpiling

• Costs and Benefits– Self transcription– Internal team transcription– External transcription

Transcribing Research 2

• Budget

– estimated number of interviews x 4 hours x 60 minute tape x hourly salary

• Examples of good and bad - handouts

• Full transcriptions– Consistent layout– Speaker tags– Line breaks– Header with identifier / other details – Checked for errors

Final Word file(human and Excel readable)

Notes for transcription proofing

Main aim is to check that the speech flows and reads properly and that there are no missing sections of text. In addition:

1. Each individual stream of speech should be a continuous line followed by a carriage return.

2. Obvious spellings mistakes to be corrected, with the following exceptions:

3. Peculiar or unrecognized spellings that should be left as they are include proper names, place names and obvious cases where the original transcriber was trying to indicate the phonetics of the speech. – E.g.: “never mixed with a lot of ‘em”.

4. The spelling of proper names: such as place names, person names should be consistent.

5. Poor grammar is typically the interview content so ignore this.

6. Page numbers.

Transcription editing guidelines

• Basic editing (spelling, punctuation)

• Research editing– Interviewer’s annotations– Text supplemental to transcript itself

• Editing to conform with Excel and XML– MUST have tabs between speaker tags and

utterance, BUT no other tabs…– Handling special characters (“10 ½” or “ten and a

half” or “10.5”?)– Replace double spacing with paragraph formatting

to create extra space at end of paragraph

Identifiers removed

• Confidentiality respected

• Anonymisation?

• Problems of anonymisation– Applied too weakly– Applied to strongly– Timing – Potential for distortion– Examples

• User undertakings

• Appropriate and sympathetic

ESDS Qualidata:key activities

• enhanced user guides and digital samplers

• exemplars and case studies of re-use

• online access to qualitative data

• user support and training activities to support secondary analysis of qualitative data

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

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

Online access to qualitative data

• new emphasis on 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 different datasets

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

Exploring qualitative data

• New ESDS Qualidata site• http://www.esds.ac.uk/qualidata/

• Old Qualidata site• http://www.qualidata.essex.ac.uk/

• UK Data Archive Catalogue• http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/

Supplemental slides

• Emergency screen dumps!

Qualidata Online