Is Secondary Analysis Second Best? A case study of re-using qualitative data Libby Bishop ESDS Qualidata, University of Essex PACTE-CIDSP and GRETS Secondary Analysis in Qualitative Research: Utopia and Perspectives Grenoble 3-4 November 2005

Is re-using data different? Primary/secondary is a false dichotomy Secondary analysis raises issues critical for ANY qualitative inquiry: –Relationships with respondents –Co-construction of data –Consent: for use, for findings? –Context(s): local (setting and people) and social

Can the growing consumption of convenience food be used to explore the discourse of “choice” as a key value claimed by neo-liberalism? How are convenience foods defined? What attitudes are expressed toward convenience food? Under what conditions are convenience foods used? What reasons are given for its use? Is individual choice a reason? How important is individual taste in meal planning? How do answers vary by: time period, age, gender, employment status, class? What attitudes are expressed about sociality at meals?

Why Secondary Analysis? Appropriate for initial exploration (literature review with data) Benefits of historical perspective for social change It was “convenient”

First things first… Consent –No explicit permissions for archiving, but –Licences, anonymised data, best judgment Context –Good, but never enough –No insider advantage

Finding and assessing data: sample selection Initial choice: Mothers and Daughters –Theoretically useful sub-sample (lower SES) –Rich descriptions of food, especially “tins” –But, limitations (generation, geography)

Mothers and Daughters questions –Would you say that some people are naturally healthier than others? –Do you have any sort of recipes that you have for keeping healthy? –And any particular ideas for keeping children healthy?

Mothers and Daughters data excerpt Nowadays they get a tin an’ there's nae [no] eggs in it an' the goodness is oot [out] o’ it. …The juice... there's nae the juice in it. Well, that's whit we find wi' the things nowadays an’ a, the richt good is out o' them... the body-buildin’ material… I mean, tinned soup, I would niver hae [have] it in the hoose…[house]

I D no. AT TI- TU DE REASONS GIVEN FOR ATTITUDE TOWARD TINNED FOODUSE OF TINS OK? UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS? too expensive tastehome made more nourishing home made better other 4gneg good, plain food better yestin of soup OK 7gnegcouldn't afford it good, wholesome home made better yeswhen you're on your own 19 g negcld never afford 4-5 tins frozen doesn't taste right body building material gone wouldn't give it to husband yesmaybe ok for daughter if in a hurry 28 g neg home made more wholesome no time for that, not for babies yeswhat you eat when you're young for a start 41 g negsoup less expensive maybemore convenient 9g g neg soup betternot artificialyesOxo ok for soup; tin of beans ok, but not tin of soup 67 g negcheaperbetter taste prefer home made nobut people use it for convenience

Sample expansion and topic refinement: three threads… Findings from Blaxter: from soup to fish fingers? Individuated, desocialised meals –In research (de Vault “double cooking”, Valentine 1999) –In the news: 43% of mothers make up to three different meals per night Entering the theoretical fray: –Unpacking “convenience” –Challenging “choice”

Selected Edwardians questions: new focus on choice –What members of the family were present for meals? –Did your mother or father bake bread; make jam; bottle fruit or vegetables? –Did they buy any tinned or dried vegetables or fruit? –Could you choose what you wanted to eat from what was cooked or did you have to eat a bit of everything? –Did all the family sit at the table for the meal?

Edwardians: could you choose at meals? YesNon/aTot Professionals 0516 Employers&Managers 2226 Clerical&Foremen 1416 Skilled Manual 3508 Semi-skilled Manual 1618 Unskilled Manual 1304 Unclassified 3306 Total

ALL data are constructed Blaxter and Patterson found moral accounts of food –I found multiple discourses of tins and convenience Thompson found agents of social change –I found no pattern of choice at meals by class

Conclusions Secondary analysis is being used as a proxy for other duels –positive/interpretive –naïve realism/hermeneutic –modern/post-modern –subjective understanding/ authorial authority Should SA be used? Yes, if it suits the research problem…