Progress and problems of preserving and providing access to
qualitative data for social research - the international picture of an
emerging culture.  

Louise Corti
Deputy Director, Qualidata
University of Essex,

In this paper, I will offer a global picture of what is happening in the
world of qualitative data archiving.  Qualidata is in a strong position to
be able to offer this insight as it was the world's first initiative to
pioneer preservation of qualitative social science data on a national
scale.  This was facilitated by the Economic and Social Science Research
Council (ESRC), Britain's largest sponsor of social science research,
deciding to implement a mandatory policy for award holders to offer
datasets of all kinds created in the course of their research.  Over the
past four years we have been approached for advice by many small,
embryonic 'qualidata' projects, on issues surrounding archiving and
providing access to qualitative data.
 
For some years now there has been a strong international culture for
archiving and re-using oral history data.  This community has, however,
few, if any, overlaps with the international social science data archive
community.  Yet, both have the same missions: to preserve and provide
access to social science data.  Qualidata has managed to provide a bridge
across the two communities in the UK, and its main role is to co-ordinate
information about the existence of all available sources of qualitative
data in Britain, wherever they are housed.  At the same time we have now
persuaded a great many players in between, i.e. those who use other
contemporary qualitative approaches such as ethnography and anthropology,
to emerge out of their cosy cocoons and begin to consider sharing and
re-using qualitative data.

Qualidata's work has provided sparks of inspiration to a number of
research groups across the world who were previously interested in the
ideas of sharing data but weren't sure how to go about it.  Many have used
Qualidata as a model for developing their archiving procedures (which we
should stress, was initially devised from a cross-fertilisation of UK Data
Archive procedures and traditional archival repository procedures in
Britain).  Typically we have found these groups to be sociologists, almost
none of whom had any contact or knowledge about the Social Science Data
Archives in their own countries.  We are still not aware of other major
funders across the world who have realised the added value that archiving
of qualitative data can bring.

I will provide a world tour of who is doing what and where in this field.  
I will address briefly the range of objectives and strategies employed by
these projects and then discuss optimal models of qualitative data
archiving.  I will also outline the formal network of qualitative data
archives currently being formed, and some of the aims of this network.