Exploring the Role of Paradata in Digitally Supported Qualitative Co-Research

Jay Rainey*, Siobhan Macfarlane, Aare Puussaar, Vasilis Vlachokyriakos, Roger Burrows, Jan David Smeddinck, Pam Briggs, Kyle Montague

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

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Abstract

Academics and community organisations are increasingly adopting co-research practices where participants contribute to qualitative data collection, analysis, and dissemination. These qualitative practices can often lack transparency that can present a problem for stakeholders (such as funding agencies) who seek evidence of the rigour and accountability in these decision-making processes. When qualitative research is done digitally, paradata is available as interaction logs that reveal the underlying processes, such as the time spent engaging with different segments of an interview. In practice, paradata is seldom used to examine the decisions associated with undertaking qualitative research. This paper explores the role of paradata arising from a four-month engagement with a community-led charity that used a digital platform to support their qualitative co-research project. Through observations of platform use and reflective post-deployment interviews, our findings highlight examples of paradata generated through digital tools in qualitative research, e.g., listening coverage, engagement rate, thematic maps and data discards. From this, we contribute a conceptualisation of paradata and discuss its role in qualitative research to improve process transparency, enhance data sharing, and to create feedback loops with research participants.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI '22
Subtitle of host publicationCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
EditorsSimone Barbosa, Cliff Lampe, Caroline Appert, David A. Shamma, Steven Drucker, Julie Williamson, Koji Yatani
Place of PublicationNew York, US
PublisherACM
Pages1-16
Number of pages16
ISBN (Print)9781450391573
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Apr 2022
EventACM CHI 2022 - 900 Convention Center Blvd, New Orleans, LA, United States
Duration: 30 Apr 20225 May 2022
https://chi2022.acm.org/

Conference

ConferenceACM CHI 2022
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew Orleans, LA
Period30/04/225/05/22
Internet address

Keywords

  • Paradata
  • ethnography
  • digital civics
  • co-research
  • qualitative practices
  • research methods

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