Transparency in Qualitative Research: An Overview of Key Findings and Recommendations (Introduction to Working Paper Series: Qualitative Transparency Deliberations, Working Group Final Reports)

31 Pages Posted: 7 Aug 2019 Last revised: 2 Mar 2020

See all articles by Alan M. Jacobs

Alan M. Jacobs

University of British Columbia (UBC)

Tim Buthe

Technische Universität München (TUM) - School of Governance - Hochschule für Politik

Ana M Arjona

Northwestern University

Leonardo R. Arriola

UC Berkeley

Eva Bellin

Brandeis University

Andrew Bennett

Georgetown University - Department of Government

Lisa Björkman

University of Louisville

Erik Bleich

Middlebury College

Zachary Elkins

University of Texas, Austin

Tasha Fairfield

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)

Nikhar Gaikwad

Columbia University - Department of Political Science

Sheena Chestnut Greitens

University of Missouri

Mary Hawkesworth

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick/Piscataway

Veronica Herrera

University of Connecticut

Yoshiko M. Herrera

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Department of Political Science

Kimberley S Johnson

New York University (NYU)

Ekrem Karakoç

University of Montreal

Kendra Koivu

University of New Mexico

Marcus Kreuzer

Villanova University - Department of Political Science

Milli Lake

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)

Timothy W. Luke

Virginia Tech

Lauren Morris MacLean

Indiana University - Department of Political Science

Samantha Majic

City University of New York (CUNY) - Department of Political Science

Rahsaan Maxwell

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill

Zachariah Mampilly

Vassar College

Robert W. Mickey

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Political Science

Kimberly J. Morgan

George Washington University

Sarah Parkinson

University of Minnesota - Minneapolis - Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Craig Parsons

University of Oregon

Wendy Pearlman

Northwestern University, Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science, Students

Mark A. Pollack

Temple University - Department of Political Science; Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law

Elliot Posner

Case Western Reserve University

Rachel Beatty Riedl

Cornell University - Department of Government

Edward Schatz

University of Toronto

Carsten Schneider

Central European University (CEU)

Jillian M. Schwedler

Hunter College

Anastasia Shesterinina

University of Sheffield

Erica Simmons

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Diane Singerman

American University - School of Public Affairs

Hillel David Soifer

Temple University

Nicholas Smith

City College of New York

Scott Spitzer

California State University, Fullerton; Division of Politics, Administration and Justice

Jonas Tallberg

Stockholm University - Department of Political Science

Susan Thomson

Colgate University

Antonio Vázquez-Arroyo

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Rutgers University, Newark

Barbara Vis

Utrecht University School of Governance

Lisa Wedeen

University of Chicago

Juliet Williams

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Elisabeth Jean Wood

Yale University; Santa Fe Institute

Deborah Yashar

Princeton University

Date Written: July 31, 2019

Abstract

In recent years, a variety of efforts have been made in political science to enable, encourage, or require scholars to be more open and explicit about the bases of their empirical claims and, in turn, make those claims more readily evaluable by others. While qualitative scholars have long taken an interest in making their research open, reflexive, and systematic, the recent push for overarching transparency norms and requirements has provoked serious concern within qualitative research communities and raised fundamental questions about the meaning, value, costs, and intellectual relevance of transparency for qualitative inquiry. This essay is the introduction to a symposium that crystallizes the central findings of a three-year deliberative process – the Qualitative Transparency Deliberations (QTD) – involving hundreds of political scientists in a broad discussion of these issues. The symposium’s centerpiece is a series of summaries of the QTD Working Group’s final reports. Drawing on a series of public, online conversations that unfolded at www.qualtd.net, the reports unpack transparency’s promise, practicalities, risks, and limitations in relation to different qualitative methodologies, forms of evidence, and research contexts. Taken as a whole, these reports offer practical guidance to scholars designing and implementing qualitative research, and to editors, reviewers, and funders seeking to develop criteria of evaluation that are appropriate – as understood by relevant research communities – to the forms of inquiry being assessed.

Keywords: qualitative methods, research transparency, research ethics, deliberation

Suggested Citation

Jacobs, Alan M. and Buthe, Tim and Arjona, Ana M and Arriola, Leonardo R. and Bellin, Eva and Bennett, Andrew and Björkman, Lisa and Bleich, Erik and Elkins, Zachary and Fairfield, Tasha and Gaikwad, Nikhar and Chestnut Greitens, Sheena and Hawkesworth, Mary and Herrera, Veronica and Herrera, Yoshiko M. and Johnson, Kimberley S and Karakoç, Ekrem and Koivu, Kendra and Kreuzer, Marcus and Lake, Milli and Luke, Timothy W. and Morris MacLean, Lauren and Majic, Samantha and Maxwell, Rahsaan and Mampilly, Zachariah and Mickey, Robert and Morgan, Kimberly J. and Parkinson, Sarah and Parsons, Craig and Pearlman, Wendy and Pollack, Mark A. and Posner, Elliot and Riedl, Rachel Beatty and Schatz, Edward and Schneider, Carsten and Schwedler, Jillian M. and Shesterinina, Anastasia and Simmons, Erica and Singerman, Diane and Soifer, Hillel David and Smith, Nicholas and Spitzer, Scott and Spitzer, Scott and Tallberg, Jonas and Thomson, Susan and Vázquez-Arroyo, Antonio and Vis, Barbara and Wedeen, Lisa and Williams, Juliet and Wood, Elisabeth Jean and Yashar, Deborah, Transparency in Qualitative Research: An Overview of Key Findings and Recommendations (Introduction to Working Paper Series: Qualitative Transparency Deliberations, Working Group Final Reports) (July 31, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3430025 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3430025

Alan M. Jacobs (Contact Author)

University of British Columbia (UBC) ( email )

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Tim Buthe

Technische Universität München (TUM) - School of Governance - Hochschule für Politik ( email )

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Ana M Arjona

Northwestern University ( email )

Leonardo R. Arriola

UC Berkeley ( email )

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Eva Bellin

Brandeis University ( email )

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Andrew Bennett

Georgetown University - Department of Government ( email )

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Lisa Björkman

University of Louisville ( email )

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Erik Bleich

Middlebury College ( email )

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Zachary Elkins

University of Texas, Austin ( email )

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Tasha Fairfield

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) ( email )

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Nikhar Gaikwad

Columbia University - Department of Political Science ( email )

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Sheena Chestnut Greitens

University of Missouri ( email )

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Mary Hawkesworth

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick/Piscataway

Veronica Herrera

University of Connecticut ( email )

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Yoshiko M. Herrera

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Department of Political Science ( email )

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Kimberley S Johnson

New York University (NYU) ( email )

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Ekrem Karakoç

University of Montreal ( email )

Kendra Koivu

University of New Mexico ( email )

Marcus Kreuzer

Villanova University - Department of Political Science ( email )

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United States
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Milli Lake

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) ( email )

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Timothy W. Luke

Virginia Tech ( email )

Lauren Morris MacLean

Indiana University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Bloomington, IN
United States

Samantha Majic

City University of New York (CUNY) - Department of Political Science

New York, NY
United States

Rahsaan Maxwell

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill ( email )

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Zachariah Mampilly

Vassar College

Robert Mickey

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Political Science ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~rmickey

Kimberly J. Morgan

George Washington University ( email )

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Sarah Parkinson

University of Minnesota - Minneapolis - Humphrey School of Public Affairs ( email )

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Craig Parsons

University of Oregon ( email )

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Wendy Pearlman

Northwestern University, Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science, Students ( email )

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Evanston, IL 60201
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Mark A. Pollack

Temple University - Department of Political Science ( email )

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Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law ( email )

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Elliot Posner

Case Western Reserve University ( email )

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Rachel Beatty Riedl

Cornell University - Department of Government ( email )

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United States

Edward Schatz

University of Toronto

Carsten Schneider

Central European University (CEU) ( email )

Nador utca 9
Budapest, H-1051
Hungary

Jillian M. Schwedler

Hunter College ( email )

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New York, NY 10065
United States

Anastasia Shesterinina

University of Sheffield ( email )

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Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DT
United Kingdom

Erica Simmons

University of Wisconsin - Madison ( email )

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Madison, WI 53706-1481
United States

Diane Singerman

American University - School of Public Affairs ( email )

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United States

Hillel David Soifer

Temple University ( email )

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United States

Nicholas Smith

City College of New York ( email )

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Scott Spitzer

California State University, Fullerton ( email )

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Division of Politics, Administration and Justice ( email )

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Jonas Tallberg

Stockholm University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Universitetsvägen 10
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Sweden

Susan Thomson

Colgate University

Antonio Vázquez-Arroyo

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Rutgers University, Newark ( email )

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United States

Barbara Vis

Utrecht University School of Governance ( email )

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Lisa Wedeen

University of Chicago ( email )

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Juliet Williams

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HOME PAGE: http://www.genderstudies.ucla.edu/faculty/juliet-williams

Elisabeth Jean Wood

Yale University ( email )

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Santa Fe Institute

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Deborah Yashar

Princeton University ( email )

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