Research Methods: Final Year Project Toolkit - Level 6 Laura Lake

Definition of secondary analysis: Analysis by a researcher who has not been involved in the collection of the data being analysed. Using Secondary Analysis in Research

Development of research plan Secondary information essential to any research. Cost and time Potential for good quality data at a fraction of the cost of primary research. Data from major UK surveys readily available online ( ) Quality of data Many data sources such as official UK surveys offer excellent quality data. Advantages to Using Secondary Sources

Longitudinal Data Analysis Potential for analysis over time e.g. the General Household Survey, Census, Labour Force Survey etc. Detailed analysis Large national sample surveys enable analysis of small or very distinct groups of people. New analysis Reanalysing existing data can offer new interpretations of data. Advantages to Using Secondary Sources

No control Using secondary data offers the researcher no control over the quality of data or the variables included. Complexity of data Many of the large national data sets are complex in their structure and require a period of familiarisation on the part of the researcher. Limitations with using secondary sources

Confidentiality All data collected by the national statistical office must protect the privacy of individual respondents, whether persons or businesses (Office for National Statistics). Office for National Statistics Code of Practice standard/cop/index.html standard/cop/index.html Other Issues

Sources of secondary research data can come from many sources. Official data or statistics come from: Government (U.K., France, U.S.A., South Africa etc) International bodies, especially the EU (Eurostat) and the United Nations Bodies set up by government: e.g. Health Authorities, Police, Development Agencies Local Authorities Sources of Secondary Data

Non-official data or statistics do not tend to come from: Independent research Universities Market research or the private sector Sources of Secondary Data

Distinction Between Statistics & Social Research PrincipleStatisticsSocial Research 1) National Representation MUST be nationally representative (covering 1 or more of national/geographic territories it may reasonably be expected to. MAY be nationally representative (goal is to be representative of the target group of interest) 2) Part of a SeriesStructured data collection system which is part of a series OR Data collection is undertaken to test development of a series or benchmark existing data Data collection MAY be repeated but is not a requirement

Distinction Between Statistics & Social Research PrincipleStatisticsSocial Research 3) Data Collection & Evidence & Analysis Base is Robust Application of sound statistical principles consistent with international practice & quality assured by professional statisticians Evidence & analysis is rigorous & robust, based on scientific methods. A range of professional standards may apply depending on research methods used Source: UK Statistics Authority, 2009.

UK National Statistics is a good place to start! Registration data (Births, Marriages and Deaths) Economic data (Inflation rates/ Retail Price Index; GDP) Regional/ Local statistics (Regional Trends) Labour market data (employment data and Labour Force Survey) Crime Statistics Social Trends Census Examples

Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods. 3 rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. David, M. and Sutton, C. (2011) Social Research : An Introduction. 2nd ed. London: Sage. ESRC Survey Measurement Programme. Online: available from Survey Resource Network Oppenheim, A. (2000) Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. London: Continuum References

This resource was created by the University of Plymouth, Learning from WOeRk project. This project is funded by HEFCE as part of the HEA/JISC OER release programme.Learning from WOeRk This resource is licensed under the terms of the Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales license ( The resource, where specified below, contains other 3 rd party materials under their own licenses. The licenses and attributions are outlined below: 1.The name of the University of Plymouth and its logos are unregistered trade marks of the University. The University reserves all rights to these items beyond their inclusion in these CC resources. 2.The JISC logo, the and the logo of the Higher Education Academy are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution -non-commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK England & Wales license. All reproductions must comply with the terms of that license. Author Laura Lake Research Assistant InstituteUniversity of Plymouth Title Final Year Research Project Toolkit Description How to develop research questions and hypotheses Date Created July 2011 Educational Level Undergraduate (Level 6) Keywords UKOER, Learning from WOeRK, LFWOER, UOPCPDRM, Work-Based Learning, WBL, Continuous Professional Development, CPD, Secondary data Creative Commons License Back page originally developed by the OER phase 1 C-Change project ©University of Plymouth, 2010, some rights reserved