‘Re-Using’ Qualitative Data: On the Merits of an Investigative Epistemology

Abstract

This article is written to accompany and respond to the articles that form the special issue of Sociological Research Online on ‘Re-using qualitative data’. It argues that the articles are a welcome contribution, because they help to move the debate beyond moralistic and polarised positions, to demonstrate instead what sociologists can achieve by ‘re-using’ qualitative data. The article argues for an investigative epistemology and investigative practices to guide qualitative data use and ‘re-use’, and suggests that this is particularly important in the current social research climate.