DATA INQualitative Data Acquisitions

Process

Louise CortiESDS Qualidata, UKDA

IASSIST WORKSHOP 27 May 2003

UKDA Acquisitions Review

• All potential acquisitions data come via the UKDA Acquisitions Review Committee (ARC)

• All potential depositors complete a brief data submission form

• ARC reviews all new ‘Acquisitions’ and ‘Submissions’ in accordance with the UKDA Collections Development Policy

• ARC makes decisions about:– Acceptance or rejection– Data processing standard

Qualitative data criteria

• the relative importance or impact of the study eg. research recognised to have had a major influence in its field and/or representing the working life of a significant researcher

• complementary to existing data holdings

• popularity of the study topic (health, criminology, social policy)

• data that have further analytic potential than the original investigation.

• based on national samples

• mixed methods data

Minimum acceptance criteria

• data are documented to a minimum standard

• Data are in appropriate formats (digital where possible)

• Data are complete, or documented if missing items

• confidentiality, data protection and copyright issues have been addressed

Appropriate formats

• Digital text:– Preferred: RTF, XML, SGML, plain text – Acceptable: Word, HTML, WP, paper – Problematic: CAQDAS packages

• Digital audio or video – Preferred: MP-3 – Acceptable: MSWav

• Images (photos, docs etc)– Preferred: TIFF, PNG – Acceptable: GIF, BMP – Unacceptable: PDF

Data processing standards

• A* standard – Very strong re-use value for secondary analysis and/or

teaching in the FE and HE sectors (> 25 users in the first ten years of release).

• A standard – Strong re-use value for secondary analysis and/or

teaching in the FE and HE sectors (10 to 25 users)

• B standard – Moderate re-use value for secondary analysis and/or

teaching in the FE and HE sectors (1 to 10 users)

• C standard – Low re-use value for secondary analysis and/or

teaching in the FE and HE sectors (zero or 1 user)

The paper mountain

• Much older data in paper format

• Will digitise: – Scan and OCR for A/A* processing– Scan as image files for B level

• Will help place larger non-digital collections in traditional other archives across the UK – Often selectively digitise ‘highlights’

• May digitise sound bytes from audio cassette

CAQDAS value-added products

• Speaker tags (turn takers)

• Coded data

• Annotated data/ integrated research notes

• Variable matrices e.g. gender; age; etc.

• Generally CANNOT export these materials – though a couple of suppliers are building XML export functionality

…but more of that more later…

Useful archival material currently exported from CAQDAS

• Raw data files - anonymised

• Final list of codes

• Models/flow charts/diagrams etc.

• Cumulative/chronological memos/research journals

• Analytic notes

• Index or description of files

• Tables of reference links from data to codes to memo

• Variable matrices

• Interview summaries

Keeping tabs on researchers and their data

REACTIVE and PROACTIVE

• Updated database of ESRC awards

• Lists collated of ‘classic studies’

• Lists of other data sources to target

• Continue to chase data creators – annual basis

• Ambulance chasing….obituary watching

Locating data …obtaining data

• Sometime very long lead time between locating data and acquiring data

• Record = 9 years (data promised in 1994)

• Letting go of data can be painful….

• May require extensive ‘negotiation’ about certain issues

Final stages beforedata processing

• Depositor to complete license form – may apply access restrictions

• Complete data collection depositor’s form for catalogue record

• New downloadable form – will drop straight into catalogue record (DDI)

database!– Used as the basis for cataloguing

To data processing…

…covered by John