QDR sees two principle types of re-use of deposited data: secondary analysis of data in publications and theses and pedagogical use of data in classrooms.
Secondary Analysis
Secondary analysis involves the re-use of pre-existing qualitative data derived from previous research studies (Heaton 2008).
Secondary analysis can seek to evaluate previous studies, extend them, or use data for new questions, which in some cases can be quite different than those asked in the original study. QDR seeks to facilitate what we have called "epistemically responsible reuse" by curating data with high-quality documentation that allows reusers to understand the context of the primary data as well as its limitations.
In addition to searching our catalog, researchers looking for data suitable for secondary analysis may also consult our curated collection of data projects recommended for secondary analysis.
Using Data to Teach
In addition to facilitating the evaluation of scholarly work (when shared as supplemental material to a publication), and being available for analysis by other scholars for their own research purposes, shared data may also be used to enhance the teaching of social science methodology at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and potentially the teaching of substantive courses.
For an example of using qualitative data in the classroom, see our blogpost on how Robert Adcock (School of International Service, American University) has effectively done so to teach historical methods.
Actual research data can often be used to teach social science methods. Alternatively, you can generate and employ “pedagogical data” (stylized data specifically prepared to maximize student engagement with, and focus their attention on, the methods being taught). An example of a collection of data and materials that can be used for teaching purposes can be found here.
Using pedagogical data in the classroom improves teaching in several ways:
- Teaching social science involves making claims about events and processes – offering interpretations, providing descriptions, and drawing causal inferences. Doing so with the support of data enriches that substantive content by adding depth, texture, and detail to those claims and by providing examples and illustrations.
- Example: the assertion that a president pursued a foreign policy with a particular goal in mind is made more evocative and powerful if a digital artefact presents that information in the president’s own voice or handwriting.
- You can also use data to more effectively teach qualitative research methods.
- In teaching methods, instructors usually point to exemplary applications of those methods in scholarship. Sharing with students the data on the basis of which the claims in such scholarship were developed elucidates the analytic techniques used to generate those claims, allowing instructors to more accurately describe the methods being taught and to better demonstrate how they work.
- Using pedagogical data allows instructors of research methods courses to adopt the highly effective teaching technique of giving students a chance to actively practice using the methods about which they are learning through applying them to real social science problems.
QDR is very interested in learning of additional examples of how shard data can be employed in the social science classroom, and in working with scholars to create pedagogical data. If you have ideas or are interested in helping with these efforts, please contact QDR.