title: Preserving Qualitative Data: A Data Model to Prepare Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software Data for Long-term Preservation
creators: Umar Qasim Kendall Roark
abstract: A rapid change in technology has a great impact on the long-term access to digital content. This makes preservation of a digital content a challenging task due to the content’s inherent dependency on a specific hardware/software platform. Changes in the technology without backward compatibility can lead to a content that can’t be viewed and qualitative data is no exception. Normalization is a commonly used strategy to keep content prepared for long-term preservation. However, tools are not always available to perform normalization on complex file formats such as qualitative data analysis software files. In this work, we are proposing a data model to normalize computer assisted qualitative data analysis software files to support long term access.
keywords: digital preservation digital curation chapel hill