Qualitative archiving: engaging with epistemological misgivings

In this article it is argued that epistemological concerns about the archiving of qualitative data are mis-directed. Almost all interpretive data makes either an implicit or explicit claim to knowledge in a broader context than the research project on which it is based. The ability to re-interpret these data in the light of changing broader contexts is entirely consistent with the project of interpretive and constructivist epistemologies which frame reality as socially constructed and contextually contingent. The increasing reflexivity of qualitative research can only assist the future researcher, providing it serves its aims of articulating and deepening the understanding of the original research environment and the motives of researcher and participant. The decision to re-interpret data should be one based on professional skill rather than epistemological barriers. Qualitative researchers should view the project as one for the long term, rather than as a short-term threat to the validity of their primary analysis. These arguments are made separately from ongoing debates about the ethical and confidentiality concerns of qualitative archiving.