Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, and effectivit

Boom, M.S.

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Oops!….I didn’t prepare…

Leiden University Scholary Publications

3/27/2019 Oops!….I didn’t prepare… - European Border Communitieshttp://europeanbordercommunities.eu/blog/oops-i-didnt-prepare 1/5 October 30, 2018Which lessons about research data management and project managementcan we learn from the experiences of the doctoral candidate AlfredIssendorf, the protagonist of the novel “Beyond Sleep”?In the novel Beyond Sleep - originally published in Dutch as Nooit meerslapen, by W.F. Hermans in 1966 [1] four doctoral candidates team up for ageological fieldwork trip in the north of Norway. They are hiking and carry alltheir camping and research equipment with them. Already at the start of theexpedition, it becomes clear that the Dutch researcher Alfred is less wellprepared than the young Norwegians who know the area and have morecamping experience.Getting off on the wrong footOn the plane and at the start of the trip, Alfred realizes his lack of planningand preparation which he keeps regretting throughout the rest of hisfieldwork.“I have no idea how much weight I’m capable of carrying on my back, whenit comes down to it. (…) Stupid of me not to have done a dry run at home first(…) Subtracting a percentage of the total weight to allow for the fact that Iwon’t be carrying it in short bursts, but for hours at a time over rough, rock-strewn terrain, up hill [sic] and down dale.” (p. 36). “I wonder what my dailyfood intake actually weights” (p. 38).“If only I had done more sport! If only this wasn’t my first visit to Norway”(p. 88).It is thanks to the other young men that Alfred’s data collection does not failbefore it has started. Alfred can hardly carry his load of camping and researchequipment (p. 68; 100). He is already struggling before a single stone samplehas been collected - and even more so later on during the trip after gettingAUTHORSMareike BoomResearch Data StewardPROJECTSGetting to the core of crimmigrationOops!….I didn’t prepare…Home Research Blog Events AboutHome > Blog > Oops!….I didn’t prepare…3/27/2019 Oops!….I didn’t prepare… - European Border Communitieshttp://europeanbordercommunities.eu/blog/oops-i-didnt-prepare 2/5injured in a fall (p. 173). The Norwegians are carrying a bigger share of theequipment and food and arranged for an additional person to help carryingthe load at the beginning, as the originally planned horse could not bearranged (p. 77, 88). They have also addressed the practicalities of theexpedition, including the food weight issue, planning to “‘(…) catch fish on theway. Otherwise we won’t have enough to eat.’” (p. 67). Limiting factorsLesson 1: At the beginning of your research - surely before youleave for a data collection trip - be aware of the limiting factors toyour project. A good example would be to have an idea as clear as possible about what typeof data you are going to collect or create and what size and/or weight a) thedata and b) the equipment you need in order to collect or create it would have.In the basic scenario Alfred is limited in his data collection by the physical sizeof his luggage and his own strength to carry a heavy load on uneven andunknown territory.Limiting factors are always depending on the type of data and the context ofthe research. They could greatly vary per discipline, but good ones to startwith could be:storage capacity for digital or physical data,possibilities for the transfer of physical and digital data,availability of electricity, battery capacities and any otherinfrastructure/supplies that you and your equipment rely on,your (project) budget andavailable time - this includes research deadlines, but also factors suchas other obligations at university and access to the source of data(e.g. opening hours of physical archives).In the example of Alfred’s project, a considerable amount of time duringfieldwork has to be invested in travelling as well as taking care of shelter andfinding food.In an example like the fictional fieldwork trip of Alfred, project and datamanagement or the lack of it becomes quite visible. In other types of research,for example of (empirical)legal research, a lot of the researchers’ work is beingdone at a desk and research data are less visible to others, as they are hiddenin databases or on the researcher’s computer. While the researcher’s workoften is a lot more safe and dry compared to Alfred’s, this doesn’t mean thatthese lessons do not apply to other disciplines. Assuming that time and moneyare limited, the proper planning of a project and management of the data willreduce the need for major changes during the project, as well as the risk of notmaking the estimated deadline or budget. There are limits to how many textshuman beings can read and analyse in a certain amount of time and how fastone can search through a database. Changing one’s research approach, tools orsoftware – or losing files! - when a project is already well on its way, oftenresults in extra work for the researcher(s).What also influences the amount of data that can be collected/created is whenduring your research you might have to further describe your data and methodof collection as well as taking further processing steps. It could make a greatdifference whether these steps need to be done as soon as possible and areintegrated in the data collection or if the majority of such tasks is scheduledfor a later phase of the research. Noting down information about the searchand selection strategy that you use in a physical archive or onlinedatabase would need to be done immediately. When collecting a lot of textdocuments you might also want to invest part of your time in implementing3/27/2019 Oops!….I didn’t prepare… - European Border Communitieshttp://europeanbordercommunities.eu/blog/oops-i-didnt-prepare 3/5your file naming system and adding further relevant information whilecollecting.Steps that might need to be taken at a later stage of a research project shouldbe part of the preparation for analysis. In the case of analysis of textdocuments, these might need to be de-identified, the sample refined andrelevant parts selected, physical data digitized or digital files changed todifferent file formats. Even if documentation and processing takes placeduring a later phase, estimating the time needed for processing steps can stillbe very helpful. For example, if you collect interview data in the form of audiorecordings in order to analyse the transcripts, you might need to know howlong it takes to type out a transcript (check out transcribing calculator) or thefees for one hour of transcription in the relevant language(s) if you make useof an external service.  Dealing with limiting factorsWhen you have identified factors that are limiting to your research, you canthen deliberate on which ones you will have to accept and which ones youmight wish to challenge. Depending on your project, you might look intopossibilities to raise more funds, change the data collection period, increasethe available human resources or use additional equipment. More experiencedresearchers using a comparable method should have examples of what canrealistically be done in a certain amount of time, the context of your intendedresearch.For some disciplines digital scholarship could be an outcome when dealingwith limiting factors. When having to collect and work with a lot ofinformation, using special software can make a huge difference. Did you typeand edit the bibliography of your Masters' thesis manually and now theamount of literature for your PhD trajectory seems rather scary? Check out thepossibility to use software to manage your citation and switch between stylesand create a bibliography with a few clicks.Do you have to do a systematic literature review? Or do you have to doqualitative research and work with even more documents such as interviewtranscripts, legal or policy documents? Are you used to working with printedsources or separate files and, for instance, highlighted relevant passages inthese text documents with different markers? Computer Assisted QualitativeData Analysis (CAQDAS) software such as ATLAS.TI or NVivo, offers a lot ofpossibilities to use it for in-depth analysis and visualization as a result ofwhich the rigor of textual analysis will increase [2]. Depending on yourresearch project, it might also be worthwhile to look into the possibilitiesof text and data mining - "extract[ing] structured data (in databases) fromunstructured data (text)". There are a lot of tools for digital research. Checkout this selection of common tools and software on the website of the Centrefor Digital Scholarship of Leiden University.Preventing harmLesson 2 Research activities can potentially cause harm to theresearcher or others.During the fictional expedition in "Beyond Sleep" Alfred doesn’t only getinjured, but his Norwegian friend - sorry to give away this part of the plot -also dies in an accident. It's not possible to prevent all theoretically possiblerisks like stumbling over your own feet, but depending on the researchcontext, it might be necessary to consider possible harm that could be done toyourself and others and what can be done to mitigate the risks that you haveidentified.Consult discipline specific resources and double check if you have all therelevant general information that your own university provides and follow the3/27/2019 Oops!….I didn’t prepare… - European Border Communitieshttp://europeanbordercommunities.eu/blog/oops-i-didnt-prepare 4/5correct procedures, for example, with regard to ethics, academic integrity andprivacy. Data management plan templates are often designed to help you totake relevant legal aspects of your data collection into account. Depending onyour role and the research context, some of these steps might be taken bymore senior researchers. In such cases, make sure that you follow theirinstructions and express any questions and doubts that you might have onthese issues. Even if you are not collecting data directly from respondents, alsodata from databases, for example, could contain personal data or be subject tointellectual property rights or certain conditions for use in research.Learning and training phasesLesson 3. When your research includes activities that you are notused to or unfamiliar with, allow in your planning for a learningand training phase - at home and/or at the location of datacollection/creation.In the fictional example Alfred left rather unprepared and directly wants toshoulder the 'full load'. Not all the skills and knowledge needed for datacollection will, and can, be taught in PhD lectures and seminars offered atuniversities or can be adequately mastered in a hectic last-minutepreparation. In the case of Alfred, developing a good physical condition,acquire some basic survival and camping skills and specific knowledge of acertain area are the researcher’s own responsibility and require somepreparation and training time. Research can be physically trying and datacollection might include the development of new skills. While Alfred has towalk a lot, other researchers might have to work in other climates, in adifferent cultural, linguistic or organisational context while also using newtools and equipment etc. Where necessary, allow time for learning andadjustment  to make the most of the data collection period. Where possible,practice in a safe environment with your tools and methods. Depending onyour discipline and research method, this could mean to become familiar withdatabase search options, do a mock interview to become comfortable withyour recording equipment and try out consent procedures, check how fast youcan take notes by hand or learn to use a new software program with a testdataset first.The next part in this series will continue with lessons learned from thefictional fieldwork trip: "Equipment don’t fail me now".This blog post is part of the series “Research in fiction through the lens ofdata management”.How to cite this blog post (Harvard style)Boom, M.S. (2018) Oops!….I didn’t prepare…. Available at:http://europeanbordercommunities.eu/blog/advising-alfred-applying-the-data-perspective (Accessed [date]).Footnotes[1] For international readers this blog post refers to an Englishtranslation Hermans, W.F. (2007). Beyond Sleep. (I. Rilke, Trans.). New York,NY: The Overlook Press. (Original work published in 1966, translation of the27th impression published in 2003 by De Bezige Bij).[2] Cf. for example, Silver, C., & Lewins, A. (2014). Using software inqualitative research. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.          3/27/2019 Oops!….I didn’t prepare… - European Border Communitieshttp://europeanbordercommunities.eu/blog/oops-i-didnt-prepare 5/5European Border Communities • Van Vollenhoven Institute •Leiden Law School, Universiteit Leiden • Steenschuur 25 •2311 ES Leiden, The Netherlands • Disclaimer Follow Van Vollenhoven Institute on Twitter

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