Reflections on the challenges encountered in enabling open research data for the Secret Life of a Weather Datum project. A pecha kucha presentation given at the iFutures 2015 PGR conference, Information School, University of Sheffield, July 2015.

1. “Um, yeah [laughs]”
Challenges in opening up qualitative research data
Paula Goodale ¦ Information School ¦ University of Sheffield
@PaulaGoodale ¦ @LifeOfData
#iFutures 7/7/15

2. The Secret Life of a Weather Datum
www.lifeofdata.org.uk

3. Four contrasting, but inter-connected case studies
Data Production
Citizen Science Financial Markets
Climate Science

4. Thematic analysis
Policy issues
The journey of
the weather
datum
Socio-cultural
values

5. Open research data:
Web site, online data archive
Image: Jonathan Gray [Flickr]

6. Data collection:
“The best laid plans of mice and men…”

7. Data collection:
“Nothing to see here…”

8. Data collection:
Controlled access

9. Open research data:
Which data? Which licence?

10. Anonymising participants:
“Who’s that girl [boy]?”:

11. Redactions:
Commercially sensitive information, controversial points of view,
humour, personal information about 3rd parties

12. Modifications:
Personal & professional opinions. criticisms, humour,
3rd party anonymisation, clarifications…

13. “Umm, yeah [laughs]”
(or, a transcript is a transcript, is not a transcript…)

14. Audio:
All or nothing
No audio
Full audio
Clips

15. “Our technology, our machines, is part of our humanity. We created them to extend
ourselves, and that is what is unique about human beings.” (Ray Kurzweil)

16. People and places:
Individual permissions, public spaces

17. Lessons learned [1]: informed consent
Make sure participants read and understand the small print!
I have read the small print

18. Lessons learned [2]: Put yourself in their shoes…
No ‘one-size-fits-all’

19. Lessons learned [3]: Compromise
Some open data better than no open data?

20. Would I do it again?
$1 million
question?