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Sourcing and Searching for Suitable Data Sets

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Big Qual

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on the availability of data and initial preliminary strategies for identifying possible datasets of interest. The first part of the chapter discusses formalised repositories for data which form a key infrastructure for big qual analysis. We provide information on key research data archives and how to access them. The second part considers the diverse forms of data that exist outside and alongside formal large-scale repositories. Such sources might include data stored in community or personal archives, or data typically associated with quantitative endeavours, such as social media or open questions in large-scale surveys. The chapter examines the ways in which you can use the breadth-and-depth method to access different forms and permutations of data, such as combining archived data with data from your own project(s); amalgamating two or more datasets from an existing multi-site project; or pooling data collected separately but connected by a substantive topic or theme. Overall, we show how archives and alternative sources of data approaches can open new possibilities for qualitative research.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Susie Weller

  2. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Emma Davidson

  3. SSPC , University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Rosalind Edwards

  4. Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Lynn Jamieson

Authors
  1. Susie Weller
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  2. Emma Davidson
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  3. Rosalind Edwards
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  4. Lynn Jamieson
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Weller, S., Davidson, E., Edwards, R., Jamieson, L. (2023). Sourcing and Searching for Suitable Data Sets. In: Big Qual. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36324-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36324-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36323-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-36324-5

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