How Data Curation Enables Epistemically Responsible Reuse of Qualitative Data

Data sharing and reuse are becoming the norm in quantitative research. At the same time, significant skepticism still accompanies the sharing and reuse of qualitative research data on both ethical and epistemological grounds. Nevertheless, there is growing interest in the reuse of qualitative data, as demonstrated by the range of contributions in this special issue. In this research note, we address epistemological critiques of reusing qualitative data and argue that careful curation of data can enable what we term “epistemologically responsible reuse” of qualitative data. We begin by briefly defining qualitative data and summarizing common epistemological objections to their shareability or usefulness for secondary analysis. We then introduce the concept of curation as enabling epistemologically responsible reuse and a potential way to address such objections. We discuss three recent trends that we believe are enhancing curatorial practices and thus expand the opportunities for responsible reuse: improvements in data management practices among researchers, the development of collaborative curation practices at repositories focused on qualitative data and technological advances that support sharing rich qualitative data. Using three examples of successful reuse of qualitative data, we illustrate the potential of these three trends to further improve the availability of reusable data projects

Carefully Curating Qualitative Data: The Case for Qualitative Data Sharing and Reuse

Data sharing and re-use are becoming the norm in quantitative research. At the same time, significant skepticism still accompanies the sharing and reuse of qualitative research data on both ethical and epistemological grounds. Nevertheless, there is growing interest in the re-use of qualitative data for research (see Goodman, Lester & O’Reilly call for a special issue in TQR), as well as teaching (see e.g. Saldaña’s workshop at this congress using “authentic data”). In this presentation we make the case that data qualitative data can be shared ethically and we present ways in which they can be shared in a way that maximizes the potential for re-use. Based on the work of the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR), we describe the role of curation, understood as a collaborative process between researchers and data archivists, in ensuring that data are shared responsibly, in a way that makes them discoverable for re-use, and in a way that preserves context and detail crucial for effective re-use. Rather than taking the maximalist position that all qualitative can be shared and re-used, we suggest pragmatic ways in which common issues with sharing and re-use can be addressed. Throughout our talk, we employ examples from QDR’s practice to illustrate

Leadership and Behavior in Humanitarian and Development Transnational Non-Governmental Organizations

Does leadership matter in the governance of civil society organizations? In particular, do the CEOs of humanitarian and development NGOs exhibit different leadership styles and perceive their work environments in different ways as the literature suggests. To explore this question we interviewed 96 CEOs - 32 from humanitarian NGOs and 64 from development NGOs. In the process we found support for the descriptions of the leadership of these two types of organizations extant in the research and practitioner literatures. Those in charge of humanitarian NGOs were more likely to challenge the constraints in their environments, to be interested in influencing what was happening, to want to affect outcomes, and to be focused on addressing the needs of those in the communities facing the crisis, disaster, or emergency. They viewed themselves as having short time in which to respond and chose to communicate and act informally as well as to only collaborate with other organizations if pushed. Providing direct aid and service were high priorities as was advocacy to secure the funding necessary for completing their task. In contrast, CEOs leading development NGOs focused more on respecting and working within the constraints of their positions, being adaptable and flexible in working on having an impact - in effect, being interested in building coalitions and achieving consensus as well as indulging in compromise with the intent of solving the endemic problems that they were there to address. They had a longer time perspective than their humanitarian counterparts and were willing to work within fairly hierarchical structures as well as with a variety of types of collaborators to reach their goals. (auhtor's abstract

Overview of Cloud Microphysical Measurements during the SENS4ICE Airborne Test Campaigns: Contrasting Icing Frequencies from Climatological Data to First Results from Airborne Observations

The European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme has funded the SENS4ICE (Sensors for Certifiable Hybrid Architectures for Safer Aviation in Icing Environment) project [1], an innovative approach for the development and testing of new sensors for the detection of supercooled large droplets (SLD). SLD may impinge behind the protected surfaces of aircraft and therefore represents a threat to aviation safety. The newly developed sensors will be tested in combination with an indirect detection method on two aircraft, in two parallel flight programs: One on the Embraer Phenom 300 in the U.S. and one on the ATR-42 in Europe. In this framework the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center) is in charge of the airborne measurements and data evaluation of the microphysical properties of clouds encountered during the SENS4ICE field campaigns in February, March and April 2023. We present the instrumentation that is used in the flight experiments for the characterization of icing environments and for the validation and performance assessment of new sensors for the detection and discrimination of Appendix O and Appendix C conditions [2, 3]. Further, with partners from Centre Europeen De Recherche Et De Formation Avancee En Calcul Scientifique (CERFACS), the German Weather Service (DWD), the Italian Aerospace Research Center (CIRA) and Leading Edge Atmospherics (LEA), we present the considerations that were undertaken to find the best campaign location with highest frequency of icing occurrence on a climatological basis, taking into account the safety requirements of the aircraft. Four data sets of icing conditions based on various meteorological input data (model and observations) have been analyzed to provide an overview of the occurrence of icing. The data give a good impression on the geographical and vertical distribution of icing conditions above Europe and the Northern U.S. in general and specifically at higher altitudes (> 750 hPa or 8000ft) for the European campaign. We find enhanced icing frequencies between 1 to 5% at altitudes between 2 and 6 km even in the spring, summer and autumn months above Europe. We show highlights from selected individual cases from the North American test campaign performed in February and March 2023. The analysis gives a first impression of the extensive data set of icing conditions made available by the SENS4ICE project for sensor evaluation and for validation of satellite observations and model forecasts