Foundations, Strategies, and Techniques of Anonymizing Transcripts in Qualitative Research: A Practice-Oriented Introduction

Abstract

In the practice of qualitative research, legal frameworks must be considered in terms of data protection. These frameworks have implications for qualitative researchers regarding the anonymisation of qualitative data. In order to protect research participants from possible negative ramifications of their involvement, yet maximize the insights, case and context specific alterations to transcripts and other measures must be weighed during different stages of research. However, the precise practices of anonymization often remain a black box, due to few discussions in scientific publications. In this article, we provide recent legal frameworks, and also focus on these practices of anonymization. In order to present a foundational, accessible, and practice-oriented introduction, we differentiate various kinds of data, strategies of anonymization, and concrete techniques. Then, we discuss practical implementations and provide a fictive transcript for independently rehearsing these techniques or utilizing it in workshops. We end by formulating conclusions for educating future researchers, and plead for an open collegial exchange on practices of anonymization.