"Radical edits": anarchiving qualitative research.

With waves of fake news, many see the truth in decline. The resulting "post-truth" panic provokes methodological defensiveness, heightening scrutiny over what qualifies as qualitative research. At the same time, post qualitative research rejects qualitative research to imagine new possibilities. These debates involve a reassessment of how researchers relate to archives. While some suggest an exacting adherence, others advise dismissal. However, archives never close, leaving the future of qualitative research uncertain. Rather than strict adherence or dismissal, this paper argues for anarchiving, which involves an experimental relationship with archives. To illustrate, this paper considers the work of an anarchival artist, Alexandra Bell, who engages with problematic archives of white supremacy in journalism. As the field of qualitative research entertains the potential of post qualitative research, anarchiving creates an alternative way of relating to archives, unmooring qualitative research from the constraints of its archive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]