Opening up and archiving qualitative data from research with marginalised/minoritised groups: ethical challenges

​In recent years, we have witnessed a push to archive research data for re-use by researchers and other interested parties. This includes qualitative data, and data from research with marginalised and minoritised people. Some commentators are rightly concerned about whether it is possible to open up such data in ways which are respectful, ethical and just – as well as Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable, the FAIR principles of data management and stewardship.

​This Digital Good in Progress webinar will address these issues. The webinar takes the shape of a conversation between Łukasz Szulc, one of the authors of ‘Open science, closed doors? Countering marginalisation through an agenda for ethical, inclusive research and communication’ and Monika Frątczak, who led a project which sought to undertake ethical and respectful archiving of research data from the Living With Data project, in a way that was attentive to some of the concerns raised in Łukasz’s co-authored article.

​Dr Łukasz Szulc is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and Culture at the University of Manchester, specializing in critical and cultural studies of digital media at the intersections of gender, sexuality and transnationalism. He is a Digital Good Network College of Expert member. 

​Dr Monika Frątczak is currently a WRDTP ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research highlights the social implications of data visualisations, showing how audiences’ emotional responses to climate change data visualisations influence political engagement and participation. Monika was a member of the Living With Data research team.