Secondary Data Analysis

Sociological Research SOCI 1306 Secondary Data Analysis In addition to doing original research, sociologists also analyse secondary data to further the field's understanding. Secondary data are the results of other researchers' finished work or information gathered by an agency or organisation, rather than personal study derived from primary sources. Works by historians, economists, educators, and early sociologists are among the genres that sociologists may read. Periodicals, newspapers, journals, and organisational data from any historical era may be searched. Using the information that is already accessible can improve a study's depth while also saving time and money. Sociologists frequently offer novel interpretations of research results that differ from the original goals or intentions of the authors. A researcher may, for instance, examine television series, films, and situation comedies from the 1960s to learn about the ways in which women were pushed to act and behave. In addition, a sociologist would use fresh analyses of secondary data to examine how the introduction of television in the late 1950s and early 1960s affected alterations in attitudes and behaviour. It's conceivable that scholars studying the introduction of cell phones, the Internet, or social media will carry out comparable research in decades to come. The analysis of research conducted by many agencies is another way that social scientists learn. Sociologists can obtain research findings published by international organisations and government agencies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics. When researching the consequences of a recession, a public statistic such as the foreclosure rate may be helpful. To assess the resources available to various groups, statistics on school financing might be contrasted with a racial demographic profile. Secondary data, such as old films or WHO statistics, has the benefit of being nonreactive research, also known as unobtrusive research, which means that it does not require direct subject interaction and will not change or impact people's behaviours. Utilising already available data eliminates the need to enter a population and the associated costs and hazards, in contrast to studies that call for direct interaction with subjects. Utilising the data at hand is not without difficulties. Accessing public records is not always simple. To locate them and obtain access to documents, a researcher will have to put in some extra effort. Sociologists use content analysis, which uses a methodical technique to collect and value information acquired from secondary data as it relates to the subject at hand, to help direct the search through a wide library of resources and prevent spending time reading unrelated sources. Furthermore, sometimes it is impossible to confirm the veracity of the data that is currently available. For example, it is simple to tally the number of intoxicated drivers that the police stop. However, what percentage aren't? While the proportion of adolescent students who drop out of high school may be found, it may be more difficult to ascertain the number of students who later return to school or earn their GED. When data are not accessible in the specific format required or do not examine the subject from the exact perspective the researcher is looking for, there is another issue. For instance, the average salary that public school professors get is open information. However, these numbers may not include information on the length of time it took for each professor to get to the pay range, their educational credentials, or their teaching experience. When performing content analysis, it's critical to take into consideration attitudes and prevalent cultural ideas that may have impacted the study, as well as the date of publication of an existing source. For instance, attitudes and cultural conventions were very different in the 1920s than they are now when Robert S. Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd conducted their research. Since then, attitudes on race, gender roles, education, and the workforce have evolved dramatically. The study set intended to provide light on tiny American villages at the period. It serves as an example of attitudes and ideals from the 1920s today.