优蜜传媒

鈥淲e鈥檙e still figuring it out.鈥�  

Sharing data in qualitative health psychology research is a complex and evolving challenge. While Open Research (OR) principles are gaining traction across many disciplines, practical and ethical barriers often prevent qualitative health researchers from fully adopting open data sharing practices. 

In this Open Research Spotlight, Research Services Analyst Josh Emsley (he/him) speaks with Dr. Hannah Long (she/her), Research Associate in Health Inequalities, about the challenges of data sharing in qualitative health psychology and the benefits of using (Open Science Framework), a key OR tool. This conversation is part of a wider project led by the which is engaging researchers across the University of 优蜜传媒 (UoM) to explore how are being applied in different research contexts.  

From health inequalities to qualitative data notes: Hannah鈥檚 research interests 

Dr. is a Research Associate in Health Inequalities for the at UoM. She employs a range of evidence synthesis methods to investigate health inequalities and the wider determinants of health. Her work particularly focuses on the effects of public sector policy and health and social care interventions. 

In August 2024, Hannah secured an through which she has developed an article reporting guideline for Data Notes on qualitative health and social care research datasets through . Data Notes are peer-reviewed articles that describe how and why an archived research dataset was created, with the aim of increasing research transparency, promoting data reuse, and making data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR).  

Currently, Data Note templates and guides are designed primarily for quantitative data. Hannah鈥檚 Open Research Fellowship study will produce a new version suitable for qualitative datasets. Her DeNOTE project aligns with broader OR principles, enhancing the transparency, accessibility and reusability of qualitative data in health psychology research through a co-designed Data Note guideline. 

鈥淭here are so many concerns around it鈥�: The complexities of data sharing in qualitative health psychology  

Hannah situates OR within qualitative health psychology by acknowledging the unique challenges and hesitations in the field regarding open data sharing. She notes that while some OR practices are gaining traction, qualitative health researchers face additional ethical and practical barriers: 

鈥淢uch of the qualitative data we deal with has ethical and sensitivity considerations, particularly around participant identity鈥� the potential for identifying participants from their qualitative data is higher than it is for other data types, like quantitative, so we鈥檙e not yet on the open data train鈥�  

The qualitative health community is still figuring out if or how we can safely share our data and protect our participants. There鈥檚 a lack of guidance. And until that鈥檚 figured out, I think we are going to be a bit slower to join, slower to introduce open data practices.鈥� 

Using evidence synthesis techniques as her primary research method, Hannah works mainly with secondary data that is already available in published study reports. This allows her to adopt OR practices without encountering the ethical concerns faced by peers who collect primary qualitative data. At the same time, she is working to foster a stronger culture of OR within the qualitative health community around data sharing: 

鈥淚n qualitative health research, we don鈥檛 typically share our datasets. There are too many concerns around it鈥� which is something I鈥檓 trying to help shift slightly, as we need Open Research infrastructure that has been tailored to better suit qualitative data. Quantitative researchers might know more about open practices they can adopt into their research, but in qualitative research these practices are not yet widely ingrained in the same way.鈥� 

Despite these challenges, Hannah sees opportunity for incorporating more OR practices into the research workflow where possible and appropriate: 

鈥淭here are certainly things around publishing protocols, sharing our study materials, being more transparent about our methods and decisions, and getting better at reporting what we鈥檝e done that we can all do.鈥�  

鈥淎 tool to expand what I can publish鈥�: How Hannah uses OSF to expand and share her research 

Research protocols are a way of recording and sharing research methodologies, promoting better transparency and reproducibility across research workflows. Hannah highlights that, in her field of health inequalities and psychology, registering a research protocol is relatively common: 

鈥淭o the best of my knowledge, most people write a protocol and share it in one form or another before their study starts. But many of these protocols are published in traditional ways, as peer-reviewed journal articles, rather than using open platforms like OSF to distribute them 鈥� with the exception of PROSPERO for systematic reviews.鈥� 

Hannah initially used PROSPERO 鈥� an international registry for systematic review protocols 鈥� for registering protocols, but found OSF to offer broader functionality. In particular, OSF supports the registration of protocols for primary qualitative studies and other types of evidence synthesis not supported by PROSPERO. OSF is an OR management tool that helps researchers organise projects, collaborate, and (pre)register research questions and methodologies. It serves as a generalist repository for protocol (pre)registration and version control, publishing preprints and data sharing. The Office for Open Research has established institutional access to OSF鈥檚 premium functionalities, offering additional support for all students and staff. 

Beyond protocol registration, Hannah uses OSF to share supplementary materials, processed data, and any necessary deviations from her protocols online (see ). The platform allows users to control data storage location (important for GDPR compliance), and to assign DOIs (Digital Object Identifier) to project outputs 鈥� enhancing both traceability and discoverability: 

鈥淚 use it mainly as a tool to expand what I can publish related to a study, and then I鈥檒l reference the DOI in my papers or other outputs so people know where to find it. It鈥檚 basically like extra storage, that鈥檚 how I think of it.鈥� 

The discoverability aspect of OSF-hosted materials is another important benefit for Hannah, allowing her to link her OSF project space in publications. OSF further provides flexible privacy controls, allowing users to effectively manage licencing, access and privacy across a range of components within a project space. The DOI feature allows a user to reserve a DOI before publication, activating when a project is finished and ready for sharing.   

Hannah believes that promoting OR practices and tools such as OSF isn鈥檛 just about raising better awareness 鈥� it鈥檚 about changing behaviour through the wider research culture at 优蜜传媒.  

鈥淚 think many people may simply be unaware of the wide range of available tools, or they stick to familiar methods because they work well enough. And they don鈥檛 actively seek out alternatives that could further support their work, because we鈥檙e busy, and we don鈥檛 know what we don鈥檛 know鈥�  

We need to better understand the barriers to uptake and why some choose not to use the tools on offer鈥� it鈥檚 about behaviour change鈥� and how we can support people to build it into their own research practice.鈥� 

With cultivating an 鈥榦pen and responsible research environment鈥� being a strategic goal for UoM, researchers like Hannah play a crucial role in advocating and championing OR practices across 优蜜传媒鈥檚 research community. The Office for Open Research drives progress toward the University鈥檚 strategic OR goals by delivering initiatives and projects through its Open Research Programme. This includes supporting access to OR systems like OSF, as well as the provision of specialist workshops and training on using OR tools through the skills programme. The RLP-funded project aims to further bring together a growing community of data stewards and researchers who foster OR practices across UoM. 

Concluding thoughts 

Our conversation with Dr. Hannah Long highlights both the barriers and opportunities of adopting OR practices in qualitative health psychology. While concerns about participant confidentiality and data sensitivity remain key challenges, tools like OSF offer pathways for greater research transparency through protocol (pre)registration, version control, supplementary material sharing, and enhanced discoverability. The Office for Open Research plays an important role in supporting OR practices at UoM by providing institutional access, training and guidance on using OR systems like OSF.  

Are you using OSF or other OR tools in your work at 优蜜传媒? We鈥檇 love to hear from you! with the Office for Open Research and share your experiences and insights on how these tools are supporting your research.  

Want to hear more from Hannah about her Open Research Fellows project? on Wednesday 28 May 2025 at 12pm in the Main Library where Hannah will be leading the third session in the Research Data Conversations series.