When conducting qualitative research, researchers must be acutely aware of several critical considerations regarding their research data.
First, they need to recognise that qualitative research data— whether interviews, observations, or textual materials — is inherently interpretive and context-dependent, requiring careful documentation of the research context, researcher positionality, and analytical decisions to ensure transparency and trustworthiness.
Research data management is paramount: researchers must establish systematic procedures for organising, storing, and securing data, particularly given the often sensitive and identifiable nature of qualitative materials, which demands robust ethical safeguards including informed consent, anonymisation strategies, and secure storage protocols compliant with data protection regulations.
Additionally, researchers should be mindful of the volume and richness of qualitative data, which can quickly become overwhelming without a clear analytical framework and coding strategy from the outset. The iterative nature of qualitative research means that data collection and analysis often occur simultaneously, requiring flexibility while maintaining methodological rigour.
Finally, researchers must consider data preservation and sharing practices — increasingly expected by funding bodies and journals — while balancing these demands against participants' privacy rights and the nuanced, contextual nature of qualitative data that may not be easily anonymised or meaningfully shared outside its original research context.
Qualitative research can involve:
As a researcher, you need to identify the various types of research data you will generate and how to appropriately manage this data (plan for it it, collect it, process it, analyse it, share it, retain it, dispose of it, preserve it).
Be mindful of the particularly disclosive nature of this data and if you share any of this research data, you will need to ensure that the identities of participants - the default is that they are anonymous - remains undisclosed. This can be a particularly delicate balancing act between data sharing, data security and researcher integrity (do no harm to your participants).
Please contact the Research Data Librarian, if you wish to discuss further. Email: michael.oconnor@qub.ac.uk
Regulations, Policies and Guidance on conducting research can be found here.
The University’s current Regulations and Policies are:
This latter guidance document from Queen's University Belfast outlines best practices for conducting online interviews and focus groups using video conferencing platforms, with Microsoft Teams as the default platform. It emphasises critical considerations including participant access and privacy, the need for secure settings and data management plans, appropriate use of encryption for sensitive topics, and proper handling of recordings and transcripts.
The document stresses the importance of informed consent, secure storage protocols, careful attention to anonymity settings (such as making meetings private), and compliance with data protection policies. It also addresses specific concerns about AI transcription services, data sharing in repositories, and the need to consider whether online methods are appropriate given participants' circumstances and the sensitivity of research topics.