Final answer:
Novinha hides her files in 'Speaker for the Dead' to protect her family and community from the potentially harmful secrets contained therein, motivated by guilt, fear, and protective instincts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question refers to the character Novinha from the novel 'Speaker for the Dead' by Orson Scott Card. In the story, Novinha hides her files because she is afraid that the secrets contained within could harm her family and others she cares about. Specifically, these files contain sensitive research that has the potential to unravel the uneasy peace between humans and the alien 'Piggies' on the planet Lusitania. Novinha's motivation for hiding her files stems from a combination of personal guilt over the death of her parents, fear of further loss, and the desire to protect her children and the community at large from the potentially disastrous consequences of her research being misused or misunderstood.