Qualitative Data & Open Science - Are we there yet?

Qualitative data has many unique features which need to be considered when discussing the application of Open Science and FAIR data principles.

While being an underrepresented community in the Open Science movement initially, more and more projects and initiatives have started to give attention to qualitative data and its place within Open Science. We see more guidelines and discussions of how to approach qualitative data within the Open Science framework - from pre-registration templates to dedicated FAIR data repositories for qualitative data. On the other hand, qualitative data projects for some still don’t seem to fit into the molds that common best practices provide.

In this workshop at the 2025 Dutch National Open Science Festival, people working with qualitative data were brought together to discuss where we started, where we stand, and how we want to move forward.

An updated version of our guide “Making Qualitative Data Reusable” was presented, which DANS has published initially in March 2023. It was discussed how this and other available resources apply to various qualitative data projects and identify bottlenecks in the available tools, services and support for qualitative data.