Findability and discoverability of qualitative research data in social sciences. An explorative study using re3data API and systematic evidence searching

Abstract

This thesis explores the findability and discoverability of qualitative research data within the social sciences, focusing on three key domains: discipline-specific repositories, scholarly journal articles, and scholarly journals. Employing an explorative and descriptive approach, the study investigates the extent to which data management practices support the finding and discovery of qualitative datasets. The research identifies that while repositories commonly use persistent identifiers (PIDs) and discipline-specific metadata standards, the availability of advanced search functionalities remains limited, which may hinder data findability. The study also highlights a concerning scarcity of data availability statements in scholarly articles, with only 17% including such statements, and reveals that data sharing is often impeded by ethical constraints. Furthermore, a significant gap was found between the datasets stored in repositories and their representation in scholarly literature, underscoring the need for better integration of repository-held data into academic discourse. The findings suggest that both repositories and journals must enhance their practices to promote the visibility of qualitative research data, with recommendations for improved search tools, stricter enforcement of data availability statement policies, and stronger linkages between datasets and scholarly publications. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on open science and the challenges associated with qualitative data sharing in the social sciences.