Using secondary data Lecture 10 Prof. Development and Research Lecturer: R. Milyankova

Session objectives:  To identify the full variety of secondary data available  To understand the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data in research projects  To appreciate ways how secondary data can be used to answer research questions and to meet objectives  To use a range of techniques to locate secondary data  To evaluate the suitability of secondary data for meeting objectives, answering research questions in terms of coverage, validity, reliability and measurement bias  To apply all this knowledge in your research project

What is secondary data?  Data that have already been collected for other purposes  Include both raw data and compiled data in published summaries  Include both quantitative and qualitative data: pay- roll details, copies of letters, minutes of meetings  Provide answers to your research questions as a main source sometimes

Types of secondary data  Documentary data – archival research - Written materials: number of personnel, absenteeism, production etc. in books, journals, minutes, notes, s, letters, notes of interviews; they can be raw or compiled - Non-written materials: tape and video recording, films, pictures, drawings, video-taped observations, discs, CD-ROMs, etc.  Survey-based data – collected by questionnaires - area based: Financial Times country reports, Government publications journals, etc. - time series based: Books, Journals, Government publications, etc.  Compiled from multiple sources - censuses: census of population, census of employment - continuous and regular surveys: family spending, employee attitudes - ad hoc surveys: academic surveys, organization’s surveys

Advantages of secondary data  May have fewer resource requirements – saves time and money (less expensive research and larger set of data), may have more time to analyze and interpret the results  Unobtrusive – calmly and silently you can have a big amount of data to be analyzed  Can provide comparative and contextual data – compare your primary data with secondary data  Can result in unforeseen discoveries – lung cancer  Permanence of data -

Disadvantages of secondary data  May be collected for purpose that does not match your objective –  Access may be difficult or costly –  Aggregation and definitions may be unsuitable –  No real control over data quality –  Initial purpose may affect how data is resented –

Precise suitability  Reliability and validity – the methods according to which the data was collected and the reputation of the source  Measurement bias – - deliberate distortion – data is recorded inaccurately - Changes in the way data is collected  Costs and benefits -