Open Science for Theoretical Work: A Document Analysis Case Study of Social Disorganization Theory

Growing concerns about the reproducibility of scientific findings have led to efforts to enhance the transparency and rigor of criminological research. Improving the accuracy and precision of theory development and adopting open science practices, such as open data, are widely considered effective means to achieve these ends. However, current open science practices primarily target quantitative methodologies and tend to ignore qualitative methods, like document analysis, due to perceived insurmountable obstacles. Since document analysis is often crucial for constructing accurate and precise theories, the inability to integrate open science practices with qualitative research methods undermines the effectiveness of these solutions to the replication crisis. In the case study, we use MAXQDA qualitative software to simulate a method of open science applicable to qualitative document analysis in a purposive sample of n=15 empirical social disorganization research articles. Preliminary findings indicate using qualitative software packages is an effective way to increase transparency and rigor of data coding for theory development, thus integrating the benefits of open science and open data with theory construction. We discuss the utility, limitations, and implications of using this approach.