Elman, Kapiszewski, McCracken and Moravcsik receive $446,133 from National
Science Foundation to support Qualitative Data Repository
The Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry, based in the Moynihan
Institute of Global Affairs at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, is
the home of the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR). The Repository has been awarded $446,133 from
the National Science Foundation (NSF) and anticipates receiving an additional $452,909
in NSF support in 2015. These funds would bring the total awarded to QDR by NSF
to over $1,642,000.
QDR,
co-directed by Colin Elman and Diana Kapiszewski, is the first repository in the
United States purpose-built for qualitative social science data. Until recently, U.S. social scientists rarely
shared qualitative data, in part due to uncertainty about where and how to do
so. QDR provides a secure location to deposit
and access data while maintaining a commitment to protect human subjects and
address copyright concerns.
Elman explains
that “technological and societal trends have dramatically increased
expectations that information will flow freely. QDR will ensure that qualitative data enter
this stream in ways that are consistent with rigorous research standards and
practices.”
Kapiszewski highlights that “QDR is a social science repository, not
an archive. It considers video, text,
and other digital content to be data that can be used to evaluate research, for
secondary analysis, and for teaching purposes.”
The renewed
funding will be used to enhance QDR’s capacity to share qualitative and
quantitative data. A key resource for
researchers, faculty and students, QDR will develop common standards and practices for managing, archiving, sharing, reusing,
and citing qualitative data.
Colin Elman,
Syracuse University, is the principal investigator (PI) on the grant. The grant’s four co-PIs are: Diana
Kapiszewski, Georgetown University; Nancy McCracken, Syracuse University; Andrew
Moravcsik, Princeton University; and Lisa Wedeen, University of Chicago. 09/18/14