title: Promises and pitfalls of data sharing in qualitative research.
abstract: The movement for research transparency has gained irresistible momentum over the past decade. Although qualitative research is rarely published in the high-impact journals that have adopted, or are most likely to adopt, data sharing policies, qualitative researchers who publish work in these and similar venues will likely encounter questions about data sharing within the next few years. The fundamental ways in which qualitative and quantitative data differ should be considered when assessing the extent to which qualitative and mixed methods researchers should be expected to adhere to data sharing policies developed with quantitative studies in mind. We outline several of the most critical concerns below, while also suggesting possible modifications that may help to reduce the probability of unintended adverse consequences and to ensure that the sharing of qualitative data is consistent with ethical standards in research.
authors.affiliation: Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA; Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, USA; Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda. Electronic address: actsai@partners.org.
authors.forename: Alexander C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, USA.
authors.forename: Brandon A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Kohrt
authors.affiliation: Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, USA; Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Theresa S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Betancourt
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Jooyoung K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Papachristos
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Sheri D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Weiser
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Shari L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Dworkin
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Confidentiality; Data sharing; Ethnography; Mixed methods; Qualitative research; Reproducibility; Transparency