Events

Speaker: Cara Booker, ISER, University of Essex

Abstract

Reusing secondary data offers significant advantages, such as saving time, expanding research scope, and allowing researchers to analyse large, existing datasets for trends across different time points or geographical contexts. However, it comes with challenges. Researchers must ensure the original data aligns with their research objectives, raising ontological concerns about the data’s representation of reality. Epistemologically, using pre-collected data may limit the depth of understanding, as it was not originally gathered for the specific research question. Additionally, issues like data quality, missing information, and contextual differences can complicate interpretation.

Secondary and archival social science data has been vital to expanding the field and has led to many important research and policy paradigms. This webinar provided an introduction into secondary and archival social science data. The webinar covered a number of topics including where to find the data, the considerations of using different types of data, how sampling will impact analyses and interpretation of results, some data management tips and examples of analyses conducted with secondary social science data. While there are no prerequisites to this webinar, you are encouraged to read Sage Research Methods – Archival and Secondary Data for more detailed information.

After the event you will:

• Know how and where to look for secondary and archival social science data in different data depositories.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary or archival social science data.
• Better understand what types of research can be carried out with secondary or archival social science data.

Resources:

• Sage Research Methods – Archival and Secondary Data

About the speaker

Dr. Cara Booker is a senior research fellow at the University of Essex’s Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER). Her research focuses on psychosocial factors influencing adolescent health, social media’s role in youth well-being, and social inequalities. She has co-authored books and published research on health behaviours, particularly among marginalised groups, contributing to understanding the intersection of social and health factors in young populations.

This event was organised by ADP – Slovenian Social Science Data Archives.