Research Integrity Forum lunchtime workshop Data sharing and data confidentiality: Managing sensitive qualitative data in the internet age

Professor Celia Kitzinger from the Department of Sociology will lead a Research Integrity Forum lunchtime workshop:

"Drawing on my own research and on the range of examples I've encountered as Chair of the ELMPS Ethics Committee I will raise for discussion some issues that arise for researchers (and for ethics committees) both in relation to sharing qualitative data with other researchers (e.g. data archiving) and in relation to keeping data confidential, in the sense that identity of the person providing it should not be discoverable.  I'll show - with concrete examples - how doctoring the data to remove identifying information can compromise its integrity; and how (in my own experience) careful attempts to conceal participant's identity can be unintentionally sabotaged by participants themselves (e.g. by their use of social media).   I'll also show how confidentiality can be successfully managed when data is made publicly available on the internet.  I would like my talk to serve as a jumping-off point for discussion about research ethics around data sharing and data confidentiality and look forward to hearing about other people's experiences in these areas."

Research Integrity Forum events are open to all staff and PGR students. Lunch is provided. To register for this session and/or to join the Forum's mailing list, please contact carolyn.jones@york.ac.uk.