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Secondary analysis of qualitative data: what is it and can it help your research?

Secondary analysis of qualitative data: what is it and can it help your research?. Libby Bishop ESDS Qualidata, University of Essex Department of Sociology Minicourse Essex University 24 May 2007. What is “secondary analysis”?. Ways to use pre-existing data Description

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Secondary analysis of qualitative data: what is it and can it help your research?

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  1. Secondary analysis of qualitative data:what is it and can it help your research? Libby Bishop ESDS Qualidata, University of Essex Department of Sociology Minicourse Essex University 24 May 2007

  2. What is “secondary analysis”? • Ways to use pre-existing data • Description • Comparison, sample extension • Restudies (Booth-poverty) • Reanalysis/new questions (Fielding's, Bornat) • Research design (instrument) • Validation vs. reflexive restudy (Savage) • Can data “pre-exist”?

  3. Uses of secondary analysis for post-graduate research • Helpful to think of comparison with literature review • Lit review covers findings, with breadth • “Data review” covers data, in depth

  4. Strategies for SA: qualitative data • Content knowledge: search catalogue to locate and download relevant studies • Thematic guides • Methods knowledge: explore supporting documentation • User guides for each study • Web searching and browsing • Qualidata Online

  5. Advantages of reuse • Might save time (recruiting, transcription) but more time on learning previous context • Some consent issues may be resolved • Readily available data for vulnerable, hard-to-access populations • Distance from data

  6. Disadvantages of reuse • Data simply not available • Not get experience of primary data collection • Constrained by what was asked in original study • Inadequate context • Limited or unknown consent agreements • Distance from data

  7. Epistemological critique- Context • Context is essential for reflexive use of qual data • Full context can not be recreated in SA • Ergo, SA is not suitable… • Recontextualisation…

  8. Levels of contexts

  9. Contexts and reusing data

  10. Context examples • What does tinned food signify? • 2007, 1967, 1947, 1927… • Contacting the primary researcher • For and against

  11. What if there isn’t “enough” context? • What is the nature of the document? • What was the intent of the author? • What were the conditions under which it was produced? What would a historian do?

  12. Ethics • End User Licence and beyond… • Respondents • Interviewers • What about when reuse is for very different purposes? • What is the researcher’s duty? • Is it different from primary researcher’s? • A real case study….. • No harm, no deceit?

  13. Qualitative data collections • Data from Economic and Social Research Council awards • Data from ‘classic’ social science studies • Other funders and sources

  14. Types of qualitative data • Diverse data types: in-depth interviews; semi-structured interviews; focus groups; oral histories; mixed methods data; open-ended survey questions; case notes/records of meetings; diaries/research diaries • Some multimedia: audio, video, photos • Formats: digital, paper, analogue audio-visual

  15. Supporting Documentation • Examples • Funding application • Description of methodology • Communication with informants on confidentiality • Coding schemes / themes • Technical details of equipment • Interview schedules • End of award report • Documentation from CAQDAS software packages, e.g., analytical memos • Bibliographies, resulting publications • Anything that adds insight or aids understanding and secondary usage

  16. Using thesaurus for searches • Jewish, anti-Semitism • Football, celebrity • Capitalism, inequality, redistribution • Multiculturalism, ethnic minority religions • Populism, Venezuela, Taiwan, discourse analysis

  17. For more information • ESDS Qualidata site http://www.esds.ac.uk/qualidata/ • UK Data Archive Catalogue http://www.esds.ac.uk/search/searchStart.asp

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