Anonymizing Qualitative Data

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1. As you will eventually be quoting from your transcripts in your write up of the research and you might even be depositing the data in a public archive so other researchers have access to it you will need to consider how you will ensure confidentiality. Do this by anonymizing the names of people and places to make it safe for participants (if their activities are illegal or illicit) and safe for the researcher (e.g. if you have been investigating covert operations or paramilitary groups). It is easiest to produce an anonymized copy immediately after transcription. However, you may find it is best to do your analysis using the unanonymized version, as familiarity with the real names and places can make it easier. However, many researchers report that if you anonymize early on in the analysis, you soon become just as familiar with the anonymized names. “Create a listing, in a separate file, kept somewhere safe, of all the names – people, places, organizations, companies, products – that you have changed and what you have substituted for them.” Gibbs, G. (2018). Data preparation. In Analyzing Qualitative Data ( Second ed., pp. 17-36). SAGE Publications Ltd, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526441867

   In Prospect data anonymization