Dr. Nicki Lisa Cole, TIER2 partner, will be a speaker at the upcoming symposium “Qualitative Open Science: Challenges, Opportunities, Tensions, and Synergies”, which will take place on 28 March 2025 at The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. 

Her presentation on "Why the open science movement needs qualitative researchers", will focus on the critical role qualitative research plays in the open science movement. She will speak about the tendency for open science to focus predominantly on open outputs, while often neglecting open processes. Although supporting open outputs is valuable, without an emphasis on open processes, the potential for reproducibility and replicability in research is limited, and certain research methodologies, where data sharing may not always be feasible, are sidelined.

Dr. Cole’s presentation will focus on the difficulties that qualitative researchers face when engaging with open science practices like data sharing, preregistration, and data management plans. She will discuss how qualitative research traditions, such as reflexivity, thick description, and detailed field notes, offer valuable strategies for supporting open processes, including open analysis and open methods. These practices can enable qualitative data sharing and reuse by ensuring the necessary context and process details are provided.

You can register for the event here.