11 research outputs found

    To Walk in their Shoes::Recognising the Expression of Empathy as a Research Reality

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    This paper makes an argument for recognising empathy as a research reality and explores its presence in the two development research fieldwork sites of Bosnia–Herzegovina and Nicaragua in 2007 and 2008. In both countries qualitative methods were used in a context of heightened politicisation and cross-cultural research in a variety of diverse political and geographical landscapes. Development research in particular can be motivated by a sense of injustice and is often entwined with feelings of anger, guilt, solidarity, outrage and a sense of purpose. In addition, the use of qualitative methods tends to invoke empathy in order to establish relationships of trust and openness between researcher and participant. There is an assumption, however, that the recognition and utilisation of empathy encroaches on the neutrality of the researcher. This paper challenges this belief and suggests that empathy is a valuable part of knowledge production in research. We conclude that empathy is generated through a relational process between those present in a research moment, in these cases a researcher, interpreter and participant/s. It shapes the research moment, affects understanding of the research moment, and needs to be represented in written analysis as illuminating of context and data

    AgBioData consortium recommendations for sustainable genomics and genetics databases for agriculture

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    The future of agricultural research depends on data. The sheer volume of agricultural biological data being produced today makes excellent data management essential. Governmental agencies, publishers and science funders require data management plans for publicly funded research. Furthermore, the value of data increases exponentially when they are properly stored, described, integrated and shared, so that they can be easily utilized in future analyses. AgBioData (https://www.agbiodata.org) is a consortium of people working at agricultural biological databases, data archives and knowledgbases who strive to identify common issues in database development, curation and management, with the goal of creating database products that are more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. We strive to promote authentic, detailed, accurate and explicit communication between all parties involved in scientific data. As a step toward this goal, we present the current state of biocuration, ontologies, metadata and persistence, database platforms, programmatic (machine) access to data, communication and sustainability with regard to data curation. Each section describes challenges and opportunities for these topics, along with recommendations and best practices
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