Developing a Data Note reporting guideline for qualitative health and social care research datasets (the DeNOTE study): A study protocol

Background: Data Note articles describe openly available research datasets. They detail how and why the data were created, with the aim of increasing research transparency and facilitating data reuse. However, existing guidelines and templates for Data Note articles have been designed for quantitative research datasets and are unsuitable for qualitative research datasets. As qualitative health and social care datasets have unique sensitivities, they must be treated and reported differently to quantitative datasets.

Aim: To describe the protocol for developing a novel reporting guideline for Data Note articles describing qualitative health and social care datasets (i.e., the DeNOTE reporting guideline).

Methods: The DeNOTE study includes (i) a rapid scoping exercise of existing documents and expert knowledge to identify and synthesise relevant reporting ‘items’ or ‘statements’ for a Data Note article describing qualitative health and social care data, (ii) an online questionnaire with expert participants to rate their agreement with items identified in (i) and to propose new or amended items, (iii) an online workshop with participants to co-develop the reporting items and reach consensus, (iv) eliciting participant feedback on the draft reporting guideline, and (v) finalising the guideline.

Conclusion: Our plans to develop the DeNOTE reporting guideline are registered on the EQUATOR (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) Network. The guideline will support researchers producing Data Note articles describing qualitative health and social care data. We will create a tailored resource to address the needs of qualitative researchers to facilitate transparency and to support data reuse.