Digitising and Providing Access to Socio-Medical Case Records: The Case of George Brown's Work

Abstract

In March 1999, Qualidata secured a grant from George BROWN, via the Medical Research Council to undertake the preparation, scanning, documentation and archiving of data and documentation from the lifetime research of Professor George BROWN. The research, comprising a very large resource of both qualitative and quantitative materials, dates back to the 1960s and is considered, internationally, to be among the most pioneering work on socio-economic aspects of mental health and the social aetiology of depression. It has already been in regular use for many years, both for ongoing research and for teaching purposes. In this paper we will describe: the logistics of conducting and managing the huge task of scanning the paper-based materials; tying this in with the quantitative data; and documenting the data in order to make them a useful resource for researchers. Because the data are very sensitive we also mention ways of enabling the most appropriate access. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs000368