eScience in Action

Data Management and Curation for Qualitative Research: Collaborative Curriculum Development and Implementation

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Abstract

Objective: This eScience in Action article describes the collaborative development process and outputs for a qualitative data curation curriculum initiative led by a library faculty (research data specialist) at an R1 research university.

Methods: The collaborative curriculum development activities described in this article took place between 2015-2020 and included 1) a college-wide “call out” meeting with graduate methods instructors and additional one-on-one conversations, 2) a year-long training series for disciplinary faculty teaching graduate-level qualitative research methods courses, 3) guest lectures and co-curricular workshops, and 4) the development of a credit-bearing graduate-level course.

Results: This practice-based article includes a reflection on the collaborative curriculum development process and impacts, including the development of networks between the Library and qualitative researchers across campus. The article provides a proof-of-concept example for developing relevant and trustworthy library data services for humanities and qualitative social-science researchers.

Conclusions: Curriculum development activities focused predominately upon researcher-centered perspectives and identified needs. However, changes in institutional expectations for library faculty (i.e. requirement to teach credit-bearing courses) played a major role in how the curriculum was implemented, its impact and continued sustainability of outputs going forward.

Keywords: qualitative data management, data curation, data literacy, graduate education

How to Cite:

Roark, K., (2020) “Data Management and Curation for Qualitative Research: Collaborative Curriculum Development and Implementation”, Journal of eScience Librarianship 9(1): 6. doi: https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.2020.1185

Rights: © 2020 Roark. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.