Qualitative Research Resources: Data Repositories
Find sources of qualitative training & support at UNC. How to search for and evaluate qualitative research, integrate qualitative research into systematic reviews, report/publish qualitative research. Includes some Mixed Methods resources.
Created by Health Science Librarians
Data Sharing & Repositories: Some food for thought
- NIH Scientific Data Sharing > Data Management & Sharing Policy > Selecting a Data RepositoryLearn how to evaluate and select appropriate data repositories (not qual specific):
• Overview
• Selecting a Data Repository
• Desirable Characteristics for All Data Repositories
• Additional Considerations for Human Data
• Repositories for Scientific Data - Alison L. Antes, Heidi A. Walsh, Michelle Strait, Cynthia R. Hudson-Vitale, and James M. DuBois. Examining Data Repository Guidelines for Qualitative Data Sharing.Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics 2017 13:1, 61-73This article reviews "the benefits and concerns associated with qualitative data sharing" and then describes "the results of a content analysis of guidelines from international repositories that archive qualitative data."
- Mannheimer S, Pienta A, Kirilova D, Elman C, Wutich A. Qualitative Data Sharing: Data Repositories and Academic Libraries as Key Partners in Addressing Challenges. Am Behav Sci. 2019 May;63(5):643-664. Epub 2018 Jun 28. PMID: 31693016; PMCID: PMC6830543.An overview of some qualitative data-sharing issues and the role of academic libraries as key partners:
- Research Data Toolkit: Choosing a RepositoryLibrary Guide from UNC Health Sciences Library
- NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy: Data RepositoriesLibrary Guide from UNC Health Sciences Library
Data Repositories that include Qualitative Data
- QDR: The Qualitative Data Repository at Syracuse UniversityThe Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) is a dedicated archive for storing and sharing digital data (and accompanying documentation) generated or collected through qualitative and multi-method research in the social sciences and related disciplines. It is hosted by the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry, a unit of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
- Zotero QDR Resources LibraryA collection of resources on data repositories, broadly understood, with a special focus on qualitative data. Curated and maintained by the Qualitative Data Repository at Syracuse University.
- Henry A. Murray Research Archive at Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS)Multi-disciplinary research data archive focusing on the study of lives over time, a national repository for social science data on human development and social change, especially data that illuminates women's lives and issues of concern to women.
- Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan• An international consortium of more than 750 academic institutions and research organizations, ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for the social science research community.
• ICPSR maintains a data archive of more than 250,000 files of research in the social and behavioral sciences. It hosts 21 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.
• ICPSR collaborates with a number of funders, including U.S. statistical agencies and foundations, to create thematic data collections and data stewardship and research projects. - Carolina Digital RepositoryThe Carolina Digital Repository (CDR) is a digital archive for scholarly materials produced by members of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill community. The main goal of the CDR is to keep UNC digital scholarly output safe, accessible and discoverable for as long as needed.
Data Repository Lists
Qualitative-specific:
- International Qualitative Archives List from UK Data Service)See, also, tabs for UK and European qualitative archives and
- Qualitative data sharing and re-use for socio-environmental systems research: A synthesis of opportunities, challenges, resources and approachesThis white paper discusses opportunities, challenges, resources and approaches for qualitative data sharing and re-use for socio-environmental research. The content and findings of the paper are a synthesis and extension of discussions that began during a workshop funded by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) and held at the Center Feb. 28-March 2, 2017.
- SESYNC Qualitative Data Initiative releases white paper on qualitative data sharing and re-use for socio-environmental systems researchFor more information about the Qualitative Data Initiative and the outputs, visit the project page.
https://www.sesync.org/research/qualitative-data-sharing
General, including qualitative:
- re3datare3data is a global registry of research data repositories from a diverse range of academic disciplines. It provides information on repositories for the permanent storage and access of data sets to researchers, funding bodies, publishers and scholarly institutions. It includes qualitative and related repositories.
- Generalist Repository List from Trans-NIH BioMedical Informatics Coordinating Committee (BMIC)While NIH encourages the use of domain-specific repositories where possible, such repositories are not available for all datasets. When investigators cannot locate a repository for their discipline or the type of data they generate, a generalist repository can be a useful place to share data. Generalist repositories accept data regardless of data type, format, content, or disciplinary focus. NIH does not recommend a specific generalist repository and the list below, which is not exhaustive, is provided as a guide for locating generalist repositories.
- Repository Finder from National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) at NIHNNLM Data Repository Finder: This tool is meant to help locate NIH-supported repositories for sharing research data. Answer the questions on the left-hand side to narrow the number of repositories to compare. If you are uncertain how to answer a question or do not care about a question, leave it blank to maximize your resulting options.
How to Cite Data
To cite data, start by checking an up-to-date style manual or guide for the citation style you are using. If it does not include information for citing data or datasets, use the information below for guidance.
Whether you produced the data yourself or you're using someone else's data in your research, it is important to maintain a linkage between your paper and the supporting datasets by citing them. This gives credit to the person who created the data and enables others to reproduce the research and verify results. For additional information, see ICPSR 101: Why Should I Cite Data.
There are many challenges in citing data. In many disciplines, there are no clear instructions on how to cite data, and many major style guides (APA, NLM, etc.) do not give specific guidance to address data/dataset citation. Additionally, data is often not recognized as a format in citation managers, so you may have to create the citation manually. Some datasets are dynamic, which can further complicate how and what to cite. However, some data repositories will suggest a citation. When there are no specific instructions for citing data, you may need to adapt instructions for a similar format, such as an electronic resource or web page.
Try to include these elements of the dataset in your citation:
- Creator, author, or producer
- Title
- Unique identifier. If a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is available, include it. If not, include a link to online datasets.
- Date of publication and version number, if there is one (datasets often change over time)
- Date and time the dataset was accessed
- Distributor (e.g., ICPSR, DRYAD)
- If the dataset is a derivative of one or more other datasets, you may need to credit those sources in addition.
Some dataset distributors provide a checksum to ensure that the dataset hasn't been changed or corrupted since it was published, and this may be included in a source note. Other important information for understanding and using the dataset may be included in supplementary files (e.g., codebook, readme.txt) available at the same link as the citation or in the source notes of the paper.
Additional resources:
- How to Cite Data: Key ComponentsFrom University Libraries guide
- ICPSR on Citing DataInter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan is the world's largest archive of digital social science data,.They acquire, preserve, and distribute original social science research data.
- How to Cite Datasets and Link to PublicationsFrom the Digital Curation Centre (DCC). "This guide will help you create links between your academic publications and the underlying datasets, so that anyone viewing the publication will be able to locate the dataset and vice versa."