Open Data Across Methods: A Practical Guide for Early Career Researchers

Abstract

Open data practices are increasingly central to political science, yet guidance on how to implement them remains scattered and often inaccessible to those earlier in their careers. This workshop offers a practical, hands-on introduction to open data sharing for early career researchers. The session brings together two experts representing the breadth of methodological approaches in political science. The first speaker will discuss data documentation, storage and sharing practices that allow others to replicate your findings, as well as ethical considerations that come up in the process. The second speaker will address the misconception that open data is only relevant for quantitative work. Specifically, they will discuss the challenges of standardized data management for interpretative approaches and the co-constructed nature of qualitative data as well as the practical aspects of sharing and anonymizing sensitive data. In both cases, they will focus on how to implement each of these practices across all stages of your research project, from initial research design and data collection through to writing up and sharing your final manuscript. Designed with early career researchers in mind, the workshop prioritizes accessibility and applicability over technical depth. Whether you work with large-N datasets, interviews, archival materials, or a combination of methods, this session will provide you with the tools and confidence to make your research more open, reproducible, and transparent.