Public dialogue on the use of data by the public sector in Scotland

Appendix D: methodology

Overview of process

During the learning phase, participants heard presentations introducing them to the DIN, data protection and data ethics. In session two and three they heard presentations from representatives of the past projects the DIN were involved in, and in session five from individuals involved in potential future data projects. In sessions three and five, they also heard from independent academics who offered more of an outside perspective on the ethical issues related to the data projects.

After each presentation, participants moved into small breakout groups to discuss and reflect on what they had heard and share their thoughts. In the breakout discussions, participants agreed on clarification questions which were then answered by the speakers in the main plenary, or via a Q&A document which was shared with participants on an ongoing basis with written responses provided by the speakers, the Scottish Government and Ipsos.

Sessions three to six each began with the chair reflecting on what participants had discussed in their groups in the previous workshops. This provided a space for participants to reflect on where they had got to. At points throughout the workshops, each facilitator would provide ‘flavour’ feedback on their group’s discussion so that participants had the opportunity to hear from others. Based on rapid analysis of the discussions by the research team, and reviewed by facilitators of breakout room discussions, the final sessions provided the panel with draft guidelines for review and ratification in breakout rooms. The rapid analysis has since been validated with systematic analysis, which was conducted post-fieldwork to inform this report.

Analysis

The deliberative nature of the project allowed for ongoing analysis throughout fieldwork, meaning the research team observed discussions and checked in participants during each workshop to ensure key concepts (including content presented by specialists) were understood, to identify any areas where further clarification was needed, and establish emerging themes. The facilitation team debriefed after each session and discussed findings. This ensured that emerging principles and themes - both from workshop discussions and online community activities - could be played back to participants as the dialogue progressed. Each step in the analysis involved:

• Note-taking: there were live note-takers present at each session and in each breakout group to ensure conversations were recorded accurately. With participants’ permission, each breakout group was audio recorded as a further record of discussion.
• Debriefing: facilitators came together the day after the workshop to share key themes and reflections from their group’s discussions. The discussions were typically structured around the topic guide (and activities from the online community that week) and the core research team chaired these sessions to ensure all aspects of the session and online activities were covered. Facilitators drew on their own notes as well as the full transcripts.
• Developing themes: early findings from the workshops and online community were condensed into key points that were played back to the panel via a presentation summary delivered by the chair at the beginning of each workshop. In the following breakout discussion, participants were given the opportunity to reflect on these points and confirm/challenge those that did or didn’t resonate with their experiences. This also provided an opportunity to check participants were clear on things, identify themes that resonated most strongly, and unearth any outstanding issues.
• Ongoing analysis: to support ongoing analysis, a spreadsheet was developed and updated as fieldwork progressed. A separate tab was created for each session, with the columns covering each breakout and key discussion questions and the rows summarising each group’s discussion. The facilitators completed the analysis spreadsheet after each session, drawing on the full transcripts, recordings and their own notes. A summary column at the end of each tab enabled facilitators to note down key emerging themes and reflections.