Reproducibility & replication

No Action (Qual.)

No steps are taken to make the analytic process traceable or open to verification. Materials, context, and interpretive decisions are not documented or shared, making it impossible for others to understand how the findings were produced or to assess their trustworthiness.

Moving from No Action to Emerging in Reproducibility & Replicability (Qual.)

1. To progress from No Action to Emerging, begin by organising your materials and documenting your analytic process so that others could understand, in principle, how your interpretations were developed.
2. Organise your analytic materials. Store interview guides, field notes, transcripts, memos, and coding files in a single structured location. Use a clear folder system that separates raw data, anonymised data, and analytic outputs.
3. Document your analytic process. Record the basic steps you took during analysis (for example, initial coding, theme development, or memo-writing). Even brief notes or reflections improve transparency and future traceability.
4. Record software and tools. Note which software and version you used (for example, NVivo, ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA, or RQDA), along with any custom templates or plug-ins that shaped your analysis.
5. Preserve a clean version of your data. Keep an original, untouched copy of your transcripts or field materials stored securely. Ensure that file names, dates, and versions are traceable.
6. Share informally on request. Be prepared to share non-sensitive materials -- such as interview guides, coding frameworks, or methodological notes -- on request, even if they are not yet hosted in a repository.
7. Begin learning about preregistration for qualitative research. Familiarise yourself with preregistration platforms such as OSF Registries and how they can be used for qualitative or mixed-methods projects (for example, preregistering analytic intentions or sampling plans).

Emerging (Qual.)

Some steps toward transparency are taken, such as sharing selected analytic materials or excerpts upon request, but the documentation is limited and key contextual or interpretive details are missing. As a result, others would struggle to follow or audit the analytic process.

Moving from Emerging to Evolving Reproducibility & Replicability (Qual.)

1. To progress from Emerging to Evolving, the goal is to move from occasional or informal sharing toward structured, ethically responsible documentation that makes your analytic process more traceable and understandable.
2. Share non-Sensitive materials publicly. Upload safe-to-share materials such as interview guides, codebooks, analytic memos, reflexive notes, or thematic frameworks to a trusted repository like the Open Science Framework (OSF), Zenodo, or the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR).
3. Add basic documentation. Include a simple README file that explains the purpose of the study, describes the dataset or materials provided, outlines the analytic approach, and clarifies how the files are organised.
4. Improve analytic traceability. Provide short explanations or comments within your codebooks, memos, or project files showing how codes were developed and how themes emerged from the data.
5. Begin preregistration when suitable. For studies with pre-defined aims or mixed-methods components, preregister your methodological intentions (for example, sampling logic, analytic framework) on platforms such as OSF Registries. This helps distinguish planned decisions from emergent ones.
6. Explain adaptations transparently. When you adjust your sampling, analytic strategy, or interpretive approach, briefly document what changed and why to support methodological clarity.
7. Acknowledge alternative interpretations. Where appropriate, indicate whether other interpretations were considered but not developed, showing openness about the interpretive scope of your findings.

Evolving (Qual.)

Reproducibility is actively supported through the open sharing of non-sensitive analytic materials, such as codebooks, memos, or thematic frameworks, along with clear descriptions of the analytic process. Others can trace how findings were developed and could apply the approach in a comparable context. Replication or follow-up studies are encouraged where meaningful, even if outcomes are not expected to be identical.

Moving from Evolving to Sustained in Reproducibility & Replicability (Qual.)

1. To move from Evolving to Sustained, the goal is to make your analytic process not only traceable but deeply transparent, with clear contextual and reflexive documentation that enables others to meaningfully understand how your interpretations were produced.
2. Provide comprehensive documentation (Beyond a Basic README). Replace simple READMEs with a full documentation pack that includes study context, sampling rationale, data collection procedures, analytic decisions, and how coding or interpretation evolved over time.
3. Strengthen analytic traceability. Make analytic pathways explicit by organising and annotating codebooks, memos, or thematic frameworks so others can see how raw meaning-making led to final interpretations. Provide a clear logic of inquiry rather than just thematic outputs.
4. Make preregistration or protocol sharing routine. Where appropriate, preregister analytic intentions, sampling plans, or methodological frameworks in advance (for example, on OSF). In more flexible designs, publish evolving but timestamped protocol documents so interpretive shifts are still visible and accountable.
5. Maintain a reflexive or analytic changelog. Keep a structured record of how and why analytic decisions changed during the project. This includes shifts in focus, code revisions, or interpretive refinements, helping others audit the evolution of meaning-making.
6. Share interpretive breadth, not only final themes. Make space for negative cases, tensions, or competing interpretations rather than reporting only settled conclusions. This shows intellectual openness and strengthens trustworthiness.
7. Use ethical and accessible archiving practices. Deposit materials in trusted repositories such as OSF, Zenodo, or QDR, applying tiered or restricted access where needed. Include metadata explaining what cannot be shared and why.

Sustained (Qual.)

Reproducibility is systematically embedded through detailed and reflexive documentation of the analytic process. Materials such as codebooks, memos, and methodological reflections are openly shared where ethically appropriate, allowing others to trace how interpretations were developed. Replication or follow-up studies are supported by providing sufficient context, rationale, and analytic transparency for others to conduct comparable inquiries. You also promote transparent and reflexive practice within the qualitative community, helping to cultivate a wider culture of openness and methodological integrity.

Guidance for Sustained Level in Reproducibility & Replicability (Qual.)

Congratulations on reaching this level of practice. You are operating beyond good practice and contributing as a field leader in open and ethically grounded qualitative research. At the sustained level, transparency, reflexivity, and ethical stewardship are embedded throughout the research process. The focus shifts from documenting one’s own work to shaping broader norms, supporting others, and advancing methodological integrity across the qualitative community. To maintain and further improve at this level, consider the following:

• Publish protocols or methodological reports. Where appropriate, publish qualitative or mixed-methods protocols before or during data collection (for example, on OSF or in methodology-focused journals). This models transparency around sampling, analytic logic, and theoretical grounding.
• Support reflexive and contextual replication. Encourage and contribute to follow-up or replication-style studies that revisit concepts, contexts, or analytic interpretations rather than reproducing identical outcomes. This strengthens the credibility and transferability of findings.
• Develop and share open analytic workflows. Share annotated codebooks, analytic memos, thematic maps, or decision logs so that others can trace how meaning was constructed. Use structured documentation tools or repositories to make interpretive pathways auditable.
• Shape qualitative reporting and ethics standards. Participate in guideline development or advisory groups (for example, around COREQ, SRQR, or QDR standards) to help refine norms for transparency, confidentiality, and responsible data stewardship in qualitative research.
• Mentor and build capacity. Train colleagues and students in reflexive documentation, responsible data sharing, and transparent reporting. Model not only what decisions were made but why and under what interpretive conditions.
• Conduct methodological meta-research. Study and publish on openness and transparency in qualitative research, including reflexivity, positionality, replication, and traceability. Contribute to the evidence base for what “reproducibility” means in interpretive work.
• Influence institutional and editorial policy. Advocate for ethical and transparent qualitative practice to be included in ethics procedures, doctoral training, or journal requirements. Help ensure policy supports openness without undermining participant protection.
• Foster collective practice. Collaborate on shared templates, exemplars, and open teaching resources that help normalise transparency and reflexivity as core elements of qualitative scholarship.