What is the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) at qdr.syr.edu?

Updated

QDR is a repository for qualitative research data hosted at Syracuse University. Visitors can browse and discover featured data projects, deposit their own qualitative data, and use QDR's guidance and resources, including help for those "just getting started." It is aimed at researchers who want to archive, share, or find qualitative data rather than quantitative datasets.

What you can do on the site

The homepage organizes activity around three entry points:

  • Discover Data — browse featured data projects and their documentation.
  • Deposit Data — submit your own qualitative data for archiving.
  • Guidance and Resources — read QDR's services and methodological guidance, including a "Managing Data" series.

Featured data projects

The featured projects show the range of material QDR holds. Each project page includes a project overview and links to related publications and data DOIs.

Project What it contains
Visual key information pages for informed consent Usability testing of a customizable one-page consent template using think-aloud methods; linked to a qualitative article, its data, and a pilot-testing article
COVID Diaries, state response to COVID vaccination 5,223 unique documents published on official U.S. state governors' or health department websites, December 2020–September 2021; a collaboration between Yale School of Medicine and Yale's Tobin Center for Economic Policy
Precariously employed food workers A multiple case study of older food retail and service workers in Indiana and Washington during the pandemic; de-identified, generalized interview transcripts

These examples are useful if you want to see how QDR structures a deposit: a plain-language overview, the study context, and pointers to the underlying data and any published articles.

Who it is for

  • Researchers seeking qualitative data to reuse or to study methods and documentation practices.
  • Researchers with data to archive who want a citable deposit with a DOI, as shown by the linked data DOIs in the featured projects.
  • People new to data management who want introductory guidance before depositing.

Practical notes

  • The site does not publish pricing or login requirements on the pages reviewed, so check the deposit and access pages directly before assuming a dataset is open or that depositing is free.
  • Data DOIs (for example, the 10.5064/… identifiers in the featured projects) are the reliable way to cite or locate a specific deposit.
  • If you are deciding whether QDR fits your project, compare a featured project's structure with your own materials — interview transcripts, documents, or other qualitative sources — to judge how much preparation de-identification and documentation will require.