Research Methods: Secondary Data Collection and Analysis

Vocabulary flashcards covering primary and secondary data types, sources, advantages, disadvantages, and evaluation criteria based on Chapter 5 of Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009).

Secondary data

Data that have already been collected for some other purposes.

Primary data

Data which can be collected specifically for the purpose of answering a research question(s) and to meet research objectives.

Documentary secondary data

Data often used in research projects that also use primary data collection methods; they can be used on their own or with other sources of secondary data.

Survey secondary data

Data collected using a survey strategy, usually by questionnaires, that have been already analysed for their original purpose.

Multiple-source secondary data

Data sets that have been combined—based entirely on documentary, survey secondary, or an amalgam of the two—to form another data set prior to access by the researcher.

Time series for longitudinal studies

A compilation method where selected comparable variables are extracted and combined from a number of surveys or from the same survey repeated multiple times.

Cohort studies

Data compiled for the same population over time using a series of ‘snap shots’.

Area-based data sets

Multi-source secondary data that are combined based on having the same geographical basis.

Tertiary literature

Indexes and catalogues in archives or online used as sources to establish the availability of secondary data.

Unobtrusive

An advantage of secondary data referring to the fact that the researcher does not need to intrude on the research environment to collect it.

Measurement validity

The suitability of secondary data in terms of reliability, validity, and providing the precise information needed for the research question.

Measurement bias

Deliberate distortion or inaccuracies within a data source that must be evaluated during secondary data assessment.

Coverage

The assessment of secondary data to ensure the exclusion of unwanted data and that sufficient data remain for analysis.