Data Train Starter Track: Managing qualitative data

The term “qualitative data” is used to describe a broad variety of heterogeneous data, including various types of text (e.g. transcripts of interviews or observations), audio, video, picture or material artefacts. From the perspective of “quantitative” research–i.e., the application of statistical methods to standardized numerical data –, qualitative materials just seem to be data that need more structure. But qualitative material is a specific type of data that is usually richer, more context-dependent and more sensitive than quantitative data. On the other hand, qualitative data can be fruitfully analyzed with common tools of quantitative inquiry (e.g. text mining). Thus, this lecture addresses both quantitative and qualitative researchers and aims to introduce them to the particular ethical, legal and practical challenges of qualitative materials –e.g. in terms of data protection, informed consent, anonymization, documentation and data sharing– to outline good practices as well as examples of fruitful data management and analysis.

Contents

1. Introducing qualitative data and research

• What is qualitative data? Characteristics and examples
• The great divide? Quantitative and qualitative data and research processes
• Theory, context and data in qualitative inquiry
• Mixing qualitative and quantitative data and research

2. Challenges of managing qualitative data

• Ethical aspects
• Legal aspects
• Practical aspects

3. Managing qualitative data in practice

• Collecting data
• Organizing data
• Transforming data
• Anonymizing data
• Contextualizing data
• Sharing data

4. Mixing qualitative and quantitative data and methods –examples

Outcomes

Basic overview about qualitative data: characteristics, challenges, approaches, benefits.

Speakers:

Betina Hollstein, Professor for Microsociology and Qualitative Methods at University Bremen Head of QUALISERVICE, SOCIUM–Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy at University of Bremen

Jan-Ocko Heuer, Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Data Center (RDC) Qualiservice, SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy, University of Bremen

Please register here.

Quelle: https://www.uni-bremen.de/research-alliance/forschungsdaten/data-train