PACES Experts in Algeria, Ethiopia and Nigeria PACES Experts

Dataset Description

Qualitative interviews with local historians, experts and elder residents who provided insights on the history of the city, important changes in the physical features of the city and of society. This dataset includes a total of 18 interviews that were carried out in five cities: Adama and Kebribeyah in Ethiopia, Abuja and Osogbo in Nigeria and Mostaganem in Algeria. This is the distribution of the interviews per city: Adama (N=4), Kebribeyah (N=4), Abuja (N=3), Osogbo (N=3) and Mostaganem (N=3). The interviews were carried out in either in English, with translation from Amharic or Somali (Ethiopia) and in French in Algeria. The files are mainly transcripts in Word, but a couple of interviews were not trascribed and only audio/notes are available.

Background

This data collection is part of the PACES project (Making migration and migration policy decisions amidst societal transformations), which seeks to understand how societies change, how people perceive such change and how these lived experiences shape aspirations to stay or migrate. To capture the long-term changes in the societies where we interviewed residents and migrants, we interviewed local experts who either studied the city or lived in the city for a long time and could describe and explain important moments of change.

Purpose

To gather information about important social changes in the cities where we carried out our research. To obtain key insights of the political, economic, infrastructural, demographic, technological and cultural shifts that shaped each city.

Data Collection and Methods

Interviews carried out by the lead researcher alone or with an interpreter if language support was necessary. If the expert agreed, the interview was recorded with an audio recorder or with a smartphone. Audio files were transcribed or summary notes were written.

Research Limitations

We interviewed experts who we were able to identify through the help of a local informant. We aimed for a combination of experts who studied the cities and older residents who had lived through social changes. In Kebribeyah (Ethiopia) we primarily interviewed people with the lived experience or who operated in the city and had specific expertise, while in Nigeria we accessed primarily experts and university faculty.

Data Structure and Relationships Between Files

One file per interview, consisting of 16 Microsoft Word documents and two M4A audio files. To support the FAIR principles, long-term preservation, and future accessibility, the source files are additionally stored in alternative, preservation-oriented formats that are more suitable for sustainable archival management and interoperability. The preservation formats are retained alongside the original files to ensure the continued availability and usability of the content over time. Each file constitutes a self-contained, independently manageable archival object and can be accessed, processed, and preserved independently of the other files. No dependencies between individual files are required for their interpretation or use.

Value of the data for potential reuse

The data collected has value for researchers interested in reconstructing the history of these cities primarily from unofficial sources. Interviewees also make the point of what was the situation in the city at the time of the interview, which could be valuable for future research on these cities.

Results

Rich descriptions of social changes in five cities in Algeria, Ethiopia and Nigeria with reflections on the situation in 2024-2025.

Conclusion

The data in this dataset are valuable for selected group of researchers interested in social change in these cities or, in the future, historians needing records of long-term change in the cities explored in this research.

Access status :

Closed Access

Data availability :

The dataset is not accessible.
                               The repository record provides metadata only about the dataset.
PACES Audio files and Word files Closed Access — the information provided includes political opinions that could be harmful to the people who shared this information, should they be identified. The data has not been pseudonymised or anonymised, as these processes would remove information that is valuable and necessary to interpret the data. For this reason, the dataset is classified as closed access and is not publicly available. This data provided the background information for understanding data collected from residents and migrants living in these cities.