In an era of global networks, researchers using qualitative methods must consider the impact of any software they use on the sharing of data and findings. In this essay, I identify researchers' main areas of concern regarding the use of qualitative software packages for research. I then examine how open source software tools, wherein the publisher openly discloses the underlying computer code, may ease these concerns. I explore how one open source tool, Zotero from the Center for History and New Media, was used in a qualitative case study about distance education. Finally, I propose how a set of existing guidelines for creating open educational resources may be useful to researchers in evaluating qualitative software tools.