The Analysis of Secondary Data

Michael J Baker

Is primary data collected by observation, experimentation, or survey an essential element of a research project? The short and unequivocal answer is No, it is not.

Michael J Baker

- The emphasis on undertaking primary research is particularly surprising given that much business and management research is concerned with the analysis of existing data sets. - In accounting and finance this is usually the case; - In marketing, textbooks on marketing research emphasise the importance of exhausting secondary sources of published information before committing to the expense of primary research.

Michael J Baker

A Literature Review is an example of problem-oriented research.

The Research Issue has been identified and our first task is to establish what has already been written about it.

However, most discussions of the literature review take a narrow approach and focus on academic or scholarly literature with virtually no reference to other sources of secondary information.
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In the case of source-oriented research it is the nature of the available documents that determines what appear to be the relevant issues.
In the grounded theory approach, one should seek to address the evidence without any preconceived ideas or theory as to what they mean and construct ones interpretation out of the information contained in the documents. In doing so one will be guided by the rules of evidence and issues of the reliability and validity of the available information.
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Undirected viewing
Conditional viewing Informal search Formal search

Secondary sources
Primary sources Analysis Decision

In the model of successive focusing, recognition of a problem leads to an increasingly structured search for additional information with review of published information comprising the first step of a formal attempt to solve an identified problem. Such efforts can be classified as belonging to 1 of 4 categories (Smith1988) : Providing a background. A substitute for a a field study (primary research). A technique in its own right. Acquisition studies.
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The main advantages and disadvantages of secondary research (SR) may be summarised as follows: - SR is less costly: media owners provide details of the populations they serve in order to encourage advertisers to place contracts with them. Even in the case of syndicated research which often contain highly specific information on business issues, the cost is relatively low or is available for free through institutional libraries. - SR avoids data collection problems. Much of the content of major data archives is readily available in machine-readable format and covers nationally representative samples, standard items and standard indices. A wide range of topics is covered spanning many time periods and countries.
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- SR is a prime source of ideas and hypotheses for further, primary research. Many data sets have been subjected to only limited analysis and yield many interesting and important findings when subjected to closer scrutiny.

- SR permits the construction of trend studies. Business decision-makers are usually looking for the solutions to current and or future problems.

Michael J Baker

Secondary sources :disadvantages: * Availability. Despite the wealth of information in archives it is seldom that it will be readily available. The more specific a data base the more likely it has been collected for a particular purpose and the less likely the owner will release it freely if it has a commercial and competitive value. * Relevance. This is closely associated with Availability. Data in the public domain is usually general and it is rare that one will find such data directly relevant to their problem. *Accuracy. Unless complete and accurate, with documentation of the data given: - it may not be possible to find the information you need. - there is problem of flaws and errors in the original research design which may not be apparent but will have influence on its acceptability as a basis for further research. *Recency. Much data has been on file for a considerable time 10 Michael J Baker and may not be appropriate when analysing current problems in

Rules for secondary research (1984) Martin sets out the following rules for desk researching: Go from the general to the particular a review article first then a specialist one. Use secondary resources before primary sources then if someone has already sorted out the government or trade statistics into an intelligible table , why repeat the process? Be methodical look in catalogues, directories and indexes before looking in abstract, books or periodicals.

Write it all down make a note of all the details in full, as you go, to save backtracking.
Ask a librarian as they spend their lives doing what you may 11 Michael J Baker do for one day in six months, they undoubtedly know their way

The potential range and variety of external sources is enormous so you will need to be selective in deciding which ones to access. In Marketing (2006) we group external sources into Six main categories as follows:

1 Government 2 Universities and non-profit organisations 3 Trade associations 4 Academic and professional journals 5 Trade press 6 Commercial research organisations
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Content analysis CA
- CA: research technique used to objectively and systematically make inferences about the intentions, attitudes and values of individuals by identifying specified characteristics in textual messages (Baker, 2003). - CA: a way of asking a fixed set of questions about data in such a way as to produce countable results or quantitative descriptions Marshall and Rossman (1989). it is a means by which to produce solid descriptive information (Fennell, 2001).

- CA: often motivated by the search for techniques to infer from data what would be either too costly, no longer possible, or too obtrusive by the use of other techniques.
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CA, Data Collection According to Krippendorff (2004:83), there are six components that can serve as a way to evaluate content analysis designs:

- Unitising: relying on unitising schemes - Sampling: relying on sampling plans - Recording/coding: relying on coding instructions - Reducing data to manageable representations: relying on established statistical techniques or other methods for summarising or simplifying data - Abductively inferring contextual phenomena: relying on analytical constructs or models of the chosen context - Narrating the answer to the research questions: relying on narrative traditions or discursive conventions established within the discipline of the content analyst.
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Reviewing the Literature

If I can see further it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants.

Isaac Newton

The evolution and creation of new knowledge proceeds generally by a process of accumulation.

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The purpose of a literature review is to avoid the calamities of ignorance and the re-invention of what is already known.

In other words, it is to describe and evaluate work that has been done on the topic in which you are interested.

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More fully, the purpose of a literature review is:

1. Distinguishing what has been done from what needs to be done. 2. Discovering important variables relevant to the topic. 3. Synthesising and gaining a new perspective. 4. Identifying relationships between ideas and practice. 5. Establishing the context of the topic or problem. 6. Rationalising the significance of the problem. 7. Enhancing and acquiring the subject vocabulary. 8. Understanding the structure of the subject. 9. Relating ideas and theory to applications. 10. Identifying the main methodologies and research techniques that have been used. 11. Placing the research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments.
Michael J Baker

Hart (1998)

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Gabbott (2002) sees the role of a literature review in research as being:

To identify gaps in what has been published To avoid re-inventing the wheel To indicate where others have stopped so you can carry on To identify other people working in the same field To increase your breadth of knowledge To identify seminal work To identify opposing views To demonstrate you can access previous work in your area To identify methods or approaches relevant to your thesis
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literature review: description vs evaluation

A literature review is not an annotated bibliography i.e. a summary description of prior work. A literature review needs to describe prior work but it also needs to evaluate it.

Evaluation involves critical assessment, comparison and synthesis.

It requires identification of the distinguishing characteristics or features of earlier work and areas of agreement/disagreement within it, together with your own ideas and views of the conclusions that may be drawn from it.
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According to Gabbott (2002) it must achieve: A focus on the research area, thesis or question you are Concerned with. A synthesis of what is known and not known. The identification of areas of controversy. The formulation of questions that need answering.

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Compiling a literature review can appear a daunting task. To execute the task efficiently and effectively calls for the use of recognised skills and techniques and the observance of the conventions that define scholarly research. Among the skills Hart (1998) lists: Time management Organisation of materials Computer use Information handling Online searching Writing
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My preferred approach to conducting a literature review may be regarded as a kind of successive focusing starting with the most broadly based sources and moving sequentially to the narrowest, viz.:

Textbooks
Specialist encyclopaedias and handbooks

Journals
Databases

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Having established that a source is relevant to your inquiry you need to make notes of it. This is a vital stage as the notes are the building blocks from which you will construct the finished review Note taking is a matter of personal preference. Some will enter material directly into their computer, others will use a notebook or note cards. Whichever method you prefer two cardinal rules must be observed: 1. Make an accurate record of the source details. 2. Distinguish between the content of the source and your own views of it
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When compiling notes: 1. Develop a search plan 2. Make a separate entry for each major idea 3. Summarise in your own words unless a verbatim quotation will lend authority to an argument or line of reasoning 4. Keep to the point 5. Remember that research involves 3 main elements -Description -Investigation or Analysis -Explanation and construct your notes accordingly

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In evaluating a literature review, the reader will be looking for evidence that ( Hart 2000) :

1. You have a clear understanding of the topic; 2. You have identified all major studies related to the topic and discussed most of them; 3. You have developed, on the basis of your review, a clearly stated research problem; 4. You have drawn clear and appropriate conclusions from prior research; 5. You have established and described the various points of view related to your research topic; 6. You are proposing valid recommendations based upon analysis of the information contained in your sources; 7. You have demonstrated that there is a genuine Michael J Baker research issue that has to be addressed.

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To meet these requirements

Seek to gain and sustain the readers interest

Have a clear beginning, middle and end

Maintain continuity

Write clearly and coherently

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