BU Research Blog

The transcripts and audio recordings from the Memories of Nursing oral history project have been added to BORDaR (BU’s research data repository), opening up a rich source of material for future research! We asked the research team to share a bit more about the project and the data collected:

What’s most exciting about the research?

As nurses, we have the privilege of engaging with many aspects of life and make connections with people and their families, in a wide variety of contexts. This project draws on the rich narratives of nurses who retired to Dorset from a number of areas around the UK and who practiced throughout the world. Through the interviews, we can share their experiences of change, innovation, heartache and laughter. The interviews with 18 participants offer a window into challenges and practices of the past and therefore offer insights to inform the future of nursing.

What do you see as the benefits of making your data available?

This rich data set comprises interviews undertaken with 18 retired nurses totalling several hours and offers feminist researchers, social historians, oral history researchers and, of course, nurses access to a unique archive collection.

The variety of topics covered can be viewed as a whole or provide insights into specific aspects of nursing practice that can by examined across participants and across time. A number of participants practiced during the second world war and through the inception of the NHS, offering insights into care at a time of crucial change in the UK. These stories offer a unique insight into the life of nurses in the second the part of the twentieth century.

Links

Transcripts and audio recordings on BORDaR: https://doi.org/10.18746/bmth.data.00000184

The Memories of Nursing website: https://memoriesofnursing.uk/

Research data management library guide: https://libguides.bournemouth.ac.uk/research-data-management