Upload
dominic-hurley
View
214
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Secondary analysis of qualitative data:
what is it and can it help your research?
Libby BishopESDS Qualidata, University of Essex
Department of Sociology MinicourseEssex University
24 May 2007
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”?
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
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
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
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
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…
Levels of contexts
Holstein and Gubrium (in Seale, 04)
van den Berg (FQS, 05)
Institutional, cultural
Extra-discursive
Situational Conditions of discursive production
Conversational, interact ional
Intra-discursive
Contexts and reusing dataOriginal project
Current project
“Data” records
transcripts, audio, etc.
transcripts, often no more
Interview setting
room, dress, appearance
often not documented
Project original questions, messy analysis
new questions, ‘official methodology’
Cultural,institutional
relevance depends on the res. Q
relevance depends on the res. Q
Context examples
• What does tinned food signify?– 2007, 1967, 1947, 1927…
• Contacting the primary researcher– For and against
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?
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?
Qualitative data collections
• Data from Economic and Social Research Council awards
• Data from ‘classic’ social science studies
• Other funders and sources
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
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
Using thesaurus for searches
• Jewish, anti-Semitism• Football, celebrity• Capitalism, inequality,
redistribution• Multiculturalism, ethnic
minority religions• Populism, Venezuela, Taiwan,
discourse analysis
For more information
• ESDS Qualidata sitehttp://www.esds.ac.uk/qualidata/
• UK Data Archive Cataloguehttp://www.esds.ac.uk/search/
searchStart.asp