ABSTRACT
Preparing a qualitative dataset for archiving is time-consuming. Regarding sharing and archiving data qualitative researchers are uneasy about the epistemological challenges of using data removed from their contexts of production. Context provides the foundation from which meaning thrives in qualitative research. C. Elman and colleagues also described another problem if “share-ability” becomes an overriding criterion by which datasets are judged: qualitative researchers may tend to focus only on contexts in which data can be collected that are easily archived. Scientists’ attitudes and practices of qualitative data sharing have been assessed through surveys, focus groups, and interviews. A nationwide feasibility study on archiving and using secondary qualitative data was conducted in Germany. In Poland the practice of archiving qualitative data has been relatively. J. Niedbalski and I. S’lezak provided a specific example to illustrate Polish qualitative researchers’ concerns about negotiating consent for data archiving with their participants.
