Paper short abstract:

This paper examines ethical hesitations in digitally archiving fieldwork recordings collected in Saudi Arabia, advocating for context-specific methods across research stages. As a local anthropologist, I explore tribalism, gender roles, and the challenges of consent and contextualisation for reuse.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores innovative, dynamic, sustainable, and contextual methodological approaches to the ethical digital archiving of audio recordings from doctoral fieldwork in Saudi Arabia. As open science increasingly prioritises data reproducibility over publications, whose theoretical frameworks may lose relevance over time, archiving becomes central to folkloric studies and oral histories. Yet, while some anthropologists overlook archiving in their practice, others face significant ethical hesitations. Much of this hesitation arises from treating archiving as an afterthought, addressed only at the conclusion of a research project. To foster a broader research impact within the social sciences and shift prevailing attitudes towards archiving, this paper argues for integrating archiving into every stage of the research lifecycle, moving beyond ethical approvals and consent.

As a local Saudi anthropologist conducting audio interviews with elder relatives about life before the transformative changes of the early twentieth century, my work responds to the scarcity of ethnographic knowledge on the region and the ongoing loss of earlier research data. Despite my preservation motivates, I critically address ethical hesitations around archiving, engaging with Saudi-specific dilemmas and the broader legacies of archival practices. Rejecting rigid, universal guidelines, I explore research designs sensitive to local contexts, focusing on persistently impactful aspects such as tribalism and gender roles. My approach also examines wider ethical and epistemological concerns, aiming to balance research impact with respect for community agency. This includes providing adequate context for secondary use, seeking informed consent, conducting sensitivity checks, and navigating the politics of ‘the right to be forgotten.’