Today we release the seventh in UKRN’s working paper series. This one is based on work by a number of researchers in several universities, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in open research with marginalised communities.
Between March and July 2023, a series of six online workshops and one in-person session brought together 16 experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities of conducting open qualitative research with historically underserved and marginalized communities. These included LGBTQIA+ populations, refugees and immigrants, people living with disabilities, individuals facing mental health challenges, and survivors of domestic abuse and violence. The workshops aimed to bridge the divide between researchers and participants by focusing on co-producing knowledge and promoting ethical open science practices. Discussions highlighted the importance of expanding the concept of “openness” beyond data sharing to include practices across the entire research process. Speakers emphasized recognizing participants’ ownership of data and involving them in decisions about sharing.
Attendees identified key gaps in current open research discussions, such as the lack of representation of qualitative researchers, potential conflicts between open data sharing and ethical guidelines, and the need for greater support and standardization for qualitative open research. The sessions also underscored the need for tailored policies from journals and funders to better support ethical open practices in qualitative research.
The insights shared are not only relevant to the communities in focus but can also guide broader efforts to make open qualitative research more inclusive and ethical.
One of the co-authors of Working Paper 7 is speaking at the following event: Symposium: Qualitative Open Science: Challenges, Opportunities, Tensions, and Synergies; Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam; 28 March 2025. To register and attend.
UKRN Primer
Look out for the next UKRN primer which we are excited to release this Friday, documenting emerging good practices in a challenging and sometimes contested area. We hope it will be a useful reference point for qualitative researchers especially when combined with Working Paper No 7.
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