Write Your Dissertation Using Only Secondary Research

dissertation based on secondary research only

Writing a dissertation is already difficult to begin with but it can appear to be a daunting challenge when you only have other people’s research as a guide for proving a brand new hypothesis! You might not be familiar with the research or even confident in how to use it but if secondary research is what you’re working with then you’re in luck. It’s actually one of the easiest methods to write about!

Secondary research is research that has already been carried out and collected by someone else. It means you’re using data that’s already out there rather than conducting your own research – this is called primary research. Thankfully secondary will save you time in the long run! Primary research often means spending time finding people and then relying on them for results, something you could do without, especially if you’re in a rush. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of primary research .

So, where do you find secondary data?

Secondary research is available in many different places and it’s important to explore all areas so you can be sure you’re looking at research you can trust. If you’re just starting your dissertation you might be feeling a little overwhelmed with where to begin but once you’ve got your subject clarified, it’s time to get researching! Some good places to search include:

  • Libraries (your own university or others – books and journals are the most popular resources!)
  • Government records
  • Online databases
  • Credible Surveys (this means they need to be from a reputable source)
  • Search engines (google scholar for example).

The internet has everything you’ll need but you’ve got to make sure it’s legitimate and published information. It’s also important to check out your student library because it’s likely you’ll have access to a great range of materials right at your fingertips. There’s a strong chance someone before you has looked for the same topic so it’s a great place to start.

What are the two different types of secondary data?

It’s important to know before you start looking that they are actually two different types of secondary research in terms of data, Qualitative and quantitative. You might be looking for one more specifically than the other, or you could use a mix of both. Whichever it is, it’s important to know the difference between them.

  • Qualitative data – This is usually descriptive data and can often be received from interviews, questionnaires or observations. This kind of data is usually used to capture the meaning behind something.
  • Quantitative data – This relates to quantities meaning numbers. It consists of information that can be measured in numerical data sets.

The type of data you want to be captured in your dissertation will depend on your overarching question – so keep it in mind throughout your search!

Getting started

When you’re getting ready to write your dissertation it’s a good idea to plan out exactly what you’re looking to answer. We recommend splitting this into chapters with subheadings and ensuring that each point you want to discuss has a reliable source to back it up. This is always a good way to find out if you’ve collected enough secondary data to suit your workload. If there’s a part of your plan that’s looking a bit empty, it might be a good idea to do some more research and fill the gap. It’s never a bad thing to have too much research, just as long as you know what to do with it and you’re willing to disregard the less important parts. Just make sure you prioritise the research that backs up your overall point so each section has clarity.

Then it’s time to write your introduction. In your intro, you will want to emphasise what your dissertation aims to cover within your writing and outline your research objectives. You can then follow up with the context around this question and identify why your research is meaningful to a wider audience.

The body of your dissertation

Before you get started on the main chapters of your dissertation, you need to find out what theories relate to your chosen subject and the research that has already been carried out around it.

Literature Reviews

Your literature review will be a summary of any previous research carried out on the topic and should have an intro and conclusion like any other body of the academic text. When writing about this research you want to make sure you are describing, summarising, evaluating and analysing each piece. You shouldn’t just rephrase what the researcher has found but make your own interpretations. This is one crucial way to score some marks. You also want to identify any themes between each piece of research to emphasise their relevancy. This will show that you understand your topic in the context of others, a great way to prove you’ve really done your reading!

Theoretical Frameworks

The theoretical framework in your dissertation will be explaining what you’ve found. It will form your main chapters after your lit review. The most important part is that you use it wisely. Of course, depending on your topic there might be a lot of different theories and you can’t include them all so make sure to select the ones most relevant to your dissertation. When starting on the framework it’s important to detail the key parts to your hypothesis and explain them. This creates a good foundation for what you’re going to discuss and helps readers understand the topic.

To finish off the theoretical framework you want to start suggesting where your research will fit in with those texts in your literature review. You might want to challenge a theory by critiquing it with another or explain how two theories can be combined to make a new outcome. Either way, you must make a clear link between their theories and your own interpretations – remember, this is not opinion based so don’t make a conclusion unless you can link it back to the facts!

Concluding your dissertation

Your conclusion will highlight the outcome of the research you’ve undertaken. You want to make this clear and concise without repeating information you’ve already mentioned in your main body paragraphs. A great way to avoid repetition is to highlight any overarching themes your conclusions have shown

When writing your conclusion it’s important to include the following elements:

  • Summary – A summary of what you’ve found overall from your research and the conclusions you have come to as a result.
  • Recommendations – Recommendations on what you think the next steps should be. Is there something you would change about this research to improve it or further develop it?
  • Show your contribution – It’s important to show how you’ve contributed to the current knowledge on the topic and not just repeated what other researchers have found.

Hopefully, this helps you with your secondary data research for your dissertation! It’s definitely not as hard as it seems, the hardest part will be gathering all of the information in the first place. It may take a while but once you’ve found your flow – it’ll get easier, promise! You may also want to read about the advantages and disadvantages of secondary research .

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Primary vs Secondary Research – A Guide with Examples

Published by Alvin Nicolas at August 16th, 2021 , Revised On August 29, 2023

Introduction

Primary research or secondary research? How do you decide which is best for your dissertation paper?

As researchers, we need to be aware of the pros and cons of the two types of research methods to make sure their selected research method is the most appropriate, taking into account the topic of investigation .

The success of any dissertation paper largely depends on  choosing the correct research design . Before you can decide whether you must base your  research strategy  on primary or secondary research; it is important to understand the difference between primary resources and secondary resources.

What is the Difference between Primary Sources and Secondary Sources?

What are primary sources.

According to UCL libraries, primary sources are articles, images, or documents that provide direct evidence or first-hand testimony about any given research topic.

Is it important that we have a clear understanding of the information resulting from actions under investigation ? Primary sources allow us to get close to those events to recognise their analysis and interpretation in scientific and academic communities.

Examples of Primary Sources

Classic examples of primary sources include;

  • Original documents are prepared by the researcher investigating any given topic of research.
  • Reporters witnessing an event and reporting news.
  • Conducting surveys to collect data , such as primary elections and population census.
  • Interviews , speeches, letters, and diaries – what the participants wrote or said during data collection.
  • Audio, video, and image files were created to capture an event

What are Secondary Sources?

However, when the researcher wishes to analyse and understand information coming out of events or actions that have already occurred, their work is regarded as a secondary source.

In essence, no secondary source can be created without using primary sources. The same information source or evidence can be considered either primary or secondary, depending on who is presenting the information and where the information is presented.

Examples of Secondary Sources

Some examples of secondary sources are;

  • Documentaries (Even though the images, videos, and audio are seen as primary sources by the developer of the documentary)
  • Articles, publications, journals, and research documents are created by those not directly involved in the research.
  • Dissertations , thesis, and essays .
  • Critical reviews.
  • Books presented as evidence.

Need help with getting started with your dissertation paper? Here is a comprehensive article on “ How to write a dissertation – Step by step guide “.

What Type of Research you Should Base your Dissertation on – Primary or Secondary?

Below you will find detailed guidelines to help you make an informed decision if you have been thinking of the question “Should I use primary or secondary research in my dissertation”.

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Primary Research

Primary research includes an exhaustive  analysis of data  to answer  research questions  that are specific and exploratory in nature.

Primary research methods with examples include the use of various primary research tools such as interviews,  research surveys , numerical data, observations, audio, video, and images to collect data directly rather than using existing literature.

Business organisations throughout the world have their employees or an external research agency conduct primary research on their behalf to address certain issues. On the other hand, undergraduate and postgraduate students conduct primary research as part of their dissertation projects  to fill an obvious research gap in their respective fields of study.

As indicated above, primary data can be collected in a number of ways, and so we have also  conducted in-depth research on the most common yet independent primary data collection techniques .

Sampling in Primary Research

When conducting primary research, it is vitally important to pay attention to the chosen  sampling method  which can be described as “ a specific principle used to select members of the population to participate in the research ”.

Oftentimes, the researcher might not be able to directly work with the targeted population because of its large size, and so it becomes indispensable to employ statistical sampling techniques where the researchers have no choice but to draw conclusions based on responses collected from the representative population.

Population vs sample

The process of sampling in primary data collection includes the following five steps;

  • Identifying the target population.
  • Selecting an appropriate sampling frame.
  • Determining the sampling size.
  • Choosing a sampling method .
  • Practical application of the selected sampling technique.

The researcher can gather responses when conducting primary research, but nonverbal communication and gestures play a considerable role. They help the researcher identify the various hidden elements which cannot be identified when conducting the secondary research.

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Reasons Why you Should Use Primary Research

  • As stated previously, the most prominent advantage of primary research over secondary research is that the researcher is able to directly collect the data from the respondents which makes the data more authentic and reliable.
  • Primary research has room for customisation based on the personal requirements and/or limitations of the researcher.
  • Primary research allows for a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter to address the problem at hand .
  • The researcher will have the luxury to decide how to collect and use the data, which means that they will be able to make use of the data in whatever way deemed fit to them to gain meaningful insights.
  • The results obtained from primary research are recognised as credible throughout academic and scientific communities.

Reasons Why you Should not Use Primary Research

  • If you are considering primary research for your dissertation , you need to be aware of the high costs involved in the process of gathering primary data. Undergraduate and Masters’ students often do not have the financial resources to fund their own research work. Ph.D. students, on the other hand, are awarded a very limited research budget to work with. Thus, if you are on a low or limited budget, conducting primary research might not be the most suitable option.
  • Primary research can be extremely time-consuming. Getting your target population to participate in online surveys and face-to-face or telephonic interviews requires patience and a lot of time. This is especially important for undergraduate and Masters’ students who are required to complete and submit their work within a certain timeframe.
  • Primary research is well recognised only when it makes use of several methods of data collection . Having just one primary research method will undermine your research. Using more than one method of data collection will mean that you need more time and financial resources.
  • There might be participants who wouldn’t be willing to disclose their information, thus this aspect is crucial and should be looked into carefully.

One important aspect of primary research that researchers should look into is research ethics. Keeping participants’ information confidential is a research responsibility that should never be overlooked.

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Secondary Research

Secondary research or desk-based research is the second type of research you could base your  research methodology in a dissertation  on. This type of research reviews and analyses existing research studies to improve the overall authenticity of the research.

Secondary research methods include the use of secondary sources of information including journal articles, published reports, public libraries, books, data available on the internet, government publications, and results from primary research studies conducted by other researchers in the past.

Unlike primary research, secondary research is cost-effective and less time-consuming simply because it uses existing literature and doesn’t require the researcher to spend time and financial resources to collect first-hand data.

Not all researchers and/or business organisations are able to afford a significant amount of money towards research, and that’s one of the reasons this type of research is the most popular in universities and organisations.

The Steps for Conducting Secondary Research

Secondary research involves the following five steps;

  • Establishing the topic of research and setting up the research questions to be answered or the research hypothesis to be tested.
  • Identifying authentic and reliable sources of information.
  • Gather data relevant to the topic of research from various secondary sources such as books, journal articles, government publications, commercial sector reports.
  • Combining the data in a suitable format so you can gain meaningful insights.
  • Analysing the data to find a solution to a problem in hand

Reasons Why you Should Use Secondary Research

  • Secondary sources are readily available with researchers facing little to no difficulty in accessing secondary data. Unlike primary data that involves a lengthy and complex process, secondary data can be collected by the researcher through a number of existing sources without having to leave the comfort of the desk.
  • Secondary research is a simple process, and therefore the cost associated with it is almost negligible.

Reasons Why you Should Not Use Secondary Research

  • Finding authentic and credible sources of secondary data is nothing less than a challenge. The internet these days is full of fake information, so it is important to exercise precaution when selecting and evaluating the available information.
  • Secondary sources may not provide accurate and/or up-to-date numbers, so your research could be diluted if you are not including accurate statistics from recent timelines.
  • Secondary research, in essence, is dependent on primary research and stems its findings from sets of primary data. The reliability of secondary research will, to a certain degree, depends on the quality of primary data used.

If you aren’t sure about the correct method of research for your dissertation paper, you should get help from an expert who can guide on whether you should use Primary or Secondary Research for your dissertation paper.

The Steps Involved in Writing a Dissertation 

Key Differences between Primary and Secondary Research

Should i use primary or secondary research for my dissertation paper – conclusion.

When choosing between primary and secondary research, you should always take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of both types of research so you make an informed decision.

The best way to select the correct research strategy  for your dissertation is to look into your research topic,  research questions , aim and objectives – and of course the available time and financial resources.

Discussion pertaining to the two research techniques clearly indicates that primary research should be chosen when a specific topic, a case, organisation, etc. is to be researched about and the researcher has access to some financial resources.

Whereas secondary research should be considered when the research is general in nature and can be answered by analysing past researches and published data.

Not sure which research strategy you should apply,  get in touch with us right away . At ResearchProspect, we have Masters and Ph.D. qualified writers in all academic subjects so you can be confident of having your research; completed to the highest academic standard and well-recognised in the academic world.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between primary vs secondary research.

Primary research involves collecting firsthand data from sources like surveys or interviews. Secondary research involves analyzing existing data, such as articles or reports. Primary is original data gathering, while secondary relies on existing information.

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Methodology

  • What is Secondary Research? | Definition, Types, & Examples

What is Secondary Research? | Definition, Types, & Examples

Published on January 20, 2023 by Tegan George . Revised on January 12, 2024.

Secondary research is a research method that uses data that was collected by someone else. In other words, whenever you conduct research using data that already exists, you are conducting secondary research. On the other hand, any type of research that you undertake yourself is called primary research .

Secondary research can be qualitative or quantitative in nature. It often uses data gathered from published peer-reviewed papers, meta-analyses, or government or private sector databases and datasets.

Table of contents

When to use secondary research, types of secondary research, examples of secondary research, advantages and disadvantages of secondary research, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions.

Secondary research is a very common research method, used in lieu of collecting your own primary data. It is often used in research designs or as a way to start your research process if you plan to conduct primary research later on.

Since it is often inexpensive or free to access, secondary research is a low-stakes way to determine if further primary research is needed, as gaps in secondary research are a strong indication that primary research is necessary. For this reason, while secondary research can theoretically be exploratory or explanatory in nature, it is usually explanatory: aiming to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem.

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Secondary research can take many forms, but the most common types are:

Statistical analysis

Literature reviews, case studies, content analysis.

There is ample data available online from a variety of sources, often in the form of datasets. These datasets are often open-source or downloadable at a low cost, and are ideal for conducting statistical analyses such as hypothesis testing or regression analysis .

Credible sources for existing data include:

  • The government
  • Government agencies
  • Non-governmental organizations
  • Educational institutions
  • Businesses or consultancies
  • Libraries or archives
  • Newspapers, academic journals, or magazines

A literature review is a survey of preexisting scholarly sources on your topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant themes, debates, and gaps in the research you analyze. You can later apply these to your own work, or use them as a jumping-off point to conduct primary research of your own.

Structured much like a regular academic paper (with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion), a literature review is a great way to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject. It is usually qualitative in nature and can focus on  a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. A case study is a great way to utilize existing research to gain concrete, contextual, and in-depth knowledge about your real-world subject.

You can choose to focus on just one complex case, exploring a single subject in great detail, or examine multiple cases if you’d prefer to compare different aspects of your topic. Preexisting interviews , observational studies , or other sources of primary data make for great case studies.

Content analysis is a research method that studies patterns in recorded communication by utilizing existing texts. It can be either quantitative or qualitative in nature, depending on whether you choose to analyze countable or measurable patterns, or more interpretive ones. Content analysis is popular in communication studies, but it is also widely used in historical analysis, anthropology, and psychology to make more semantic qualitative inferences.

Primary Research and Secondary Research

Secondary research is a broad research approach that can be pursued any way you’d like. Here are a few examples of different ways you can use secondary research to explore your research topic .

Secondary research is a very common research approach, but has distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of secondary research

Advantages include:

  • Secondary data is very easy to source and readily available .
  • It is also often free or accessible through your educational institution’s library or network, making it much cheaper to conduct than primary research .
  • As you are relying on research that already exists, conducting secondary research is much less time consuming than primary research. Since your timeline is so much shorter, your research can be ready to publish sooner.
  • Using data from others allows you to show reproducibility and replicability , bolstering prior research and situating your own work within your field.

Disadvantages of secondary research

Disadvantages include:

  • Ease of access does not signify credibility . It’s important to be aware that secondary research is not always reliable , and can often be out of date. It’s critical to analyze any data you’re thinking of using prior to getting started, using a method like the CRAAP test .
  • Secondary research often relies on primary research already conducted. If this original research is biased in any way, those research biases could creep into the secondary results.

Many researchers using the same secondary research to form similar conclusions can also take away from the uniqueness and reliability of your research. Many datasets become “kitchen-sink” models, where too many variables are added in an attempt to draw increasingly niche conclusions from overused data . Data cleansing may be necessary to test the quality of the research.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

  • Normal distribution
  • Degrees of freedom
  • Null hypothesis
  • Discourse analysis
  • Control groups
  • Mixed methods research
  • Non-probability sampling
  • Quantitative research
  • Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Research bias

  • Rosenthal effect
  • Implicit bias
  • Cognitive bias
  • Selection bias
  • Negativity bias
  • Status quo bias

A systematic review is secondary research because it uses existing research. You don’t collect new data yourself.

The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question .

  • If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts and meanings, use qualitative methods .
  • If you want to analyze a large amount of readily-available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how it is generated, collect primary data.
  • If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods.

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

George, T. (2024, January 12). What is Secondary Research? | Definition, Types, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/secondary-research/
Largan, C., & Morris, T. M. (2019). Qualitative Secondary Research: A Step-By-Step Guide (1st ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Peloquin, D., DiMaio, M., Bierer, B., & Barnes, M. (2020). Disruptive and avoidable: GDPR challenges to secondary research uses of data. European Journal of Human Genetics , 28 (6), 697–705. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41431-020-0596-x

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What is Secondary Research?

Secondary research, also known as a literature review , preliminary research , historical research , background research , desk research , or library research , is research that analyzes or describes prior research. Rather than generating and analyzing new data, secondary research analyzes existing research results to establish the boundaries of knowledge on a topic, to identify trends or new practices, to test mathematical models or train machine learning systems, or to verify facts and figures. Secondary research is also used to justify the need for primary research as well as to justify and support other activities. For example, secondary research may be used to support a proposal to modernize a manufacturing plant, to justify the use of newly a developed treatment for cancer, to strengthen a business proposal, or to validate points made in a speech.

Why Is Secondary Research Important?

Because secondary research is used for so many purposes in so many settings, all professionals will be required to perform it at some point in their careers. For managers and entrepreneurs, regardless of the industry or profession, secondary research is a regular part of worklife, although parts of the research, such as finding the supporting documents, are often delegated to juniors in the organization. For all these reasons, it is essential to learn how to conduct secondary research, even if you are unlikely to ever conduct primary research.

Secondary research is also essential if your main goal is primary research. Research funding is obtained only by using secondary research to show the need for the primary research you want to conduct. In fact, primary research depends on secondary research to prove that it is indeed new and original research and not just a rehash or replication of somebody else’s work.

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  • Dissertation

How to Write a Dissertation | A Guide to Structure & Content

A dissertation or thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on original research, submitted as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

The structure of a dissertation depends on your field, but it is usually divided into at least four or five chapters (including an introduction and conclusion chapter).

The most common dissertation structure in the sciences and social sciences includes:

  • An introduction to your topic
  • A literature review that surveys relevant sources
  • An explanation of your methodology
  • An overview of the results of your research
  • A discussion of the results and their implications
  • A conclusion that shows what your research has contributed

Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an argument by analysing primary and secondary sources . Instead of the standard structure outlined here, you might organise your chapters around different themes or case studies.

Other important elements of the dissertation include the title page , abstract , and reference list . If in doubt about how your dissertation should be structured, always check your department’s guidelines and consult with your supervisor.

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Table of contents

Acknowledgements, table of contents, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review / theoretical framework, methodology, reference list.

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation’s title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo. Many programs have strict requirements for formatting the dissertation title page .

The title page is often used as cover when printing and binding your dissertation .

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The acknowledgements section is usually optional, and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you.

The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150-300 words long. You should write it at the very end, when you’ve completed the rest of the dissertation. In the abstract, make sure to:

  • State the main topic and aims of your research
  • Describe the methods you used
  • Summarise the main results
  • State your conclusions

Although the abstract is very short, it’s the first part (and sometimes the only part) of your dissertation that people will read, so it’s important that you get it right. If you’re struggling to write a strong abstract, read our guide on how to write an abstract .

In the table of contents, list all of your chapters and subheadings and their page numbers. The dissertation contents page gives the reader an overview of your structure and helps easily navigate the document.

All parts of your dissertation should be included in the table of contents, including the appendices. You can generate a table of contents automatically in Word.

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If you have used a lot of tables and figures in your dissertation, you should itemise them in a numbered list . You can automatically generate this list using the Insert Caption feature in Word.

If you have used a lot of abbreviations in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetised list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

If you have used a lot of highly specialised terms that will not be familiar to your reader, it might be a good idea to include a glossary . List the terms alphabetically and explain each term with a brief description or definition.

In the introduction, you set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance, and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the dissertation. The introduction should:

  • Establish your research topic , giving necessary background information to contextualise your work
  • Narrow down the focus and define the scope of the research
  • Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
  • Clearly state your objectives and research questions , and indicate how you will answer them
  • Give an overview of your dissertation’s structure

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to your research. By the end, the reader should understand the what , why and how of your research. Not sure how? Read our guide on how to write a dissertation introduction .

Before you start on your research, you should have conducted a literature review to gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic. This means:

  • Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones
  • Critically evaluating and analysing each source
  • Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall point

In the dissertation literature review chapter or section, you shouldn’t just summarise existing studies, but develop a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear basis or justification for your own research. For example, it might aim to show how your research:

  • Addresses a gap in the literature
  • Takes a new theoretical or methodological approach to the topic
  • Proposes a solution to an unresolved problem
  • Advances a theoretical debate
  • Builds on and strengthens existing knowledge with new data

The literature review often becomes the basis for a theoretical framework , in which you define and analyse the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research. In this section you can answer descriptive research questions about the relationship between concepts or variables.

The methodology chapter or section describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to assess its validity. You should generally include:

  • The overall approach and type of research (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental, ethnographic)
  • Your methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)
  • Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
  • Your methods of analysing data (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)
  • Tools and materials you used (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)
  • A discussion of any obstacles you faced in conducting the research and how you overcame them
  • An evaluation or justification of your methods

Your aim in the methodology is to accurately report what you did, as well as convincing the reader that this was the best approach to answering your research questions or objectives.

Next, you report the results of your research . You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses, or topics. Only report results that are relevant to your objectives and research questions. In some disciplines, the results section is strictly separated from the discussion, while in others the two are combined.

For example, for qualitative methods like in-depth interviews, the presentation of the data will often be woven together with discussion and analysis, while in quantitative and experimental research, the results should be presented separately before you discuss their meaning. If you’re unsure, consult with your supervisor and look at sample dissertations to find out the best structure for your research.

In the results section it can often be helpful to include tables, graphs and charts. Think carefully about how best to present your data, and don’t include tables or figures that just repeat what you have written  –  they should provide extra information or usefully visualise the results in a way that adds value to your text.

Full versions of your data (such as interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix .

The discussion  is where you explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research questions. Here you should interpret the results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data and discuss any limitations that might have influenced the results.

The discussion should reference other scholarly work to show how your results fit with existing knowledge. You can also make recommendations for future research or practical action.

The dissertation conclusion should concisely answer the main research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central argument. Wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you did and how you did it. The conclusion often also includes recommendations for research or practice.

In this section, it’s important to show how your findings contribute to knowledge in the field and why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known?

You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in a reference list (sometimes also called a works cited list or bibliography). It’s important to follow a consistent reference style . Each style has strict and specific requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.

The most common styles used in UK universities are Harvard referencing and Vancouver referencing . Your department will often specify which referencing style you should use – for example, psychology students tend to use APA style , humanities students often use MHRA , and law students always use OSCOLA . M ake sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if you’re unsure.

To save time creating the reference list and make sure your citations are correctly and consistently formatted, you can use our free APA Citation Generator .

Your dissertation itself should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents you have used that do not fit into the main body of your dissertation (such as interview transcripts, survey questions or tables with full figures) can be added as appendices .

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Dissertations 4: methodology: methods.

  • Introduction & Philosophy
  • Methodology

Primary & Secondary Sources, Primary & Secondary Data

When describing your research methods, you can start by stating what kind of secondary and, if applicable, primary sources you used in your research. Explain why you chose such sources, how well they served your research, and identify possible issues encountered using these sources.  

Definitions  

There is some confusion on the use of the terms primary and secondary sources, and primary and secondary data. The confusion is also due to disciplinary differences (Lombard 2010). Whilst you are advised to consult the research methods literature in your field, we can generalise as follows:  

Secondary sources 

Secondary sources normally include the literature (books and articles) with the experts' findings, analysis and discussions on a certain topic (Cottrell, 2014, p123). Secondary sources often interpret primary sources.  

Primary sources 

Primary sources are "first-hand" information such as raw data, statistics, interviews, surveys, law statutes and law cases. Even literary texts, pictures and films can be primary sources if they are the object of research (rather than, for example, documentaries reporting on something else, in which case they would be secondary sources). The distinction between primary and secondary sources sometimes lies on the use you make of them (Cottrell, 2014, p123). 

Primary data 

Primary data are data (primary sources) you directly obtained through your empirical work (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2015, p316). 

Secondary data 

Secondary data are data (primary sources) that were originally collected by someone else (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2015, p316).   

Comparison between primary and secondary data   

Use  

Virtually all research will use secondary sources, at least as background information. 

Often, especially at the postgraduate level, it will also use primary sources - secondary and/or primary data. The engagement with primary sources is generally appreciated, as less reliant on others' interpretations, and closer to 'facts'. 

The use of primary data, as opposed to secondary data, demonstrates the researcher's effort to do empirical work and find evidence to answer her specific research question and fulfill her specific research objectives. Thus, primary data contribute to the originality of the research.    

Ultimately, you should state in this section of the methodology: 

What sources and data you are using and why (how are they going to help you answer the research question and/or test the hypothesis. 

If using primary data, why you employed certain strategies to collect them. 

What the advantages and disadvantages of your strategies to collect the data (also refer to the research in you field and research methods literature). 

Quantitative, Qualitative & Mixed Methods

The methodology chapter should reference your use of quantitative research, qualitative research and/or mixed methods. The following is a description of each along with their advantages and disadvantages. 

Quantitative research 

Quantitative research uses numerical data (quantities) deriving, for example, from experiments, closed questions in surveys, questionnaires, structured interviews or published data sets (Cottrell, 2014, p93). It normally processes and analyses this data using quantitative analysis techniques like tables, graphs and statistics to explore, present and examine relationships and trends within the data (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2015, p496). 

Qualitative research  

Qualitative research is generally undertaken to study human behaviour and psyche. It uses methods like in-depth case studies, open-ended survey questions, unstructured interviews, focus groups, or unstructured observations (Cottrell, 2014, p93). The nature of the data is subjective, and also the analysis of the researcher involves a degree of subjective interpretation. Subjectivity can be controlled for in the research design, or has to be acknowledged as a feature of the research. Subject-specific books on (qualitative) research methods offer guidance on such research designs.  

Mixed methods 

Mixed-method approaches combine both qualitative and quantitative methods, and therefore combine the strengths of both types of research. Mixed methods have gained popularity in recent years.  

When undertaking mixed-methods research you can collect the qualitative and quantitative data either concurrently or sequentially. If sequentially, you can for example, start with a few semi-structured interviews, providing qualitative insights, and then design a questionnaire to obtain quantitative evidence that your qualitative findings can also apply to a wider population (Specht, 2019, p138). 

Ultimately, your methodology chapter should state: 

Whether you used quantitative research, qualitative research or mixed methods. 

Why you chose such methods (and refer to research method sources). 

Why you rejected other methods. 

How well the method served your research. 

The problems or limitations you encountered. 

Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer at the Westminster School of Media and Communication, explains mixed methods research in the following video:

LinkedIn Learning Video on Academic Research Foundations: Quantitative

The video covers the characteristics of quantitative research, and explains how to approach different parts of the research process, such as creating a solid research question and developing a literature review. He goes over the elements of a study, explains how to collect and analyze data, and shows how to present your data in written and numeric form.

dissertation based on secondary research only

Link to quantitative research video

Some Types of Methods

There are several methods you can use to get primary data. To reiterate, the choice of the methods should depend on your research question/hypothesis. 

Whatever methods you will use, you will need to consider: 

why did you choose one technique over another? What were the advantages and disadvantages of the technique you chose? 

what was the size of your sample? Who made up your sample? How did you select your sample population? Why did you choose that particular sampling strategy?) 

ethical considerations (see also tab...)  

safety considerations  

validity  

feasibility  

recording  

procedure of the research (see box procedural method...).  

Check Stella Cottrell's book  Dissertations and Project Reports: A Step by Step Guide  for some succinct yet comprehensive information on most methods (the following account draws mostly on her work). Check a research methods book in your discipline for more specific guidance.  

Experiments 

Experiments are useful to investigate cause and effect, when the variables can be tightly controlled. They can test a theory or hypothesis in controlled conditions. Experiments do not prove or disprove an hypothesis, instead they support or not support an hypothesis. When using the empirical and inductive method it is not possible to achieve conclusive results. The results may only be valid until falsified by other experiments and observations. 

For more information on Scientific Method, click here . 

Observations 

Observational methods are useful for in-depth analyses of behaviours in people, animals, organisations, events or phenomena. They can test a theory or products in real life or simulated settings. They generally a qualitative research method.  

Questionnaires and surveys 

Questionnaires and surveys are useful to gain opinions, attitudes, preferences, understandings on certain matters. They can provide quantitative data that can be collated systematically; qualitative data, if they include opportunities for open-ended responses; or both qualitative and quantitative elements. 

Interviews  

Interviews are useful to gain rich, qualitative information about individuals' experiences, attitudes or perspectives. With interviews you can follow up immediately on responses for clarification or further details. There are three main types of interviews: structured (following a strict pattern of questions, which expect short answers), semi-structured (following a list of questions, with the opportunity to follow up the answers with improvised questions), and unstructured (following a short list of broad questions, where the respondent can lead more the conversation) (Specht, 2019, p142). 

This short video on qualitative interviews discusses best practices and covers qualitative interview design, preparation and data collection methods. 

Focus groups   

In this case, a group of people (normally, 4-12) is gathered for an interview where the interviewer asks questions to such group of participants. Group interactions and discussions can be highly productive, but the researcher has to beware of the group effect, whereby certain participants and views dominate the interview (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2015, p419). The researcher can try to minimise this by encouraging involvement of all participants and promoting a multiplicity of views. 

This video focuses on strategies for conducting research using focus groups.  

Check out the guidance on online focus groups by Aliaksandr Herasimenka, which is attached at the bottom of this text box. 

Case study 

Case studies are often a convenient way to narrow the focus of your research by studying how a theory or literature fares with regard to a specific person, group, organisation, event or other type of entity or phenomenon you identify. Case studies can be researched using other methods, including those described in this section. Case studies give in-depth insights on the particular reality that has been examined, but may not be representative of what happens in general, they may not be generalisable, and may not be relevant to other contexts. These limitations have to be acknowledged by the researcher.     

Content analysis 

Content analysis consists in the study of words or images within a text. In its broad definition, texts include books, articles, essays, historical documents, speeches, conversations, advertising, interviews, social media posts, films, theatre, paintings or other visuals. Content analysis can be quantitative (e.g. word frequency) or qualitative (e.g. analysing intention and implications of the communication). It can detect propaganda, identify intentions of writers, and can see differences in types of communication (Specht, 2019, p146). Check this page on collecting, cleaning and visualising Twitter data.

Extra links and resources:  

Research Methods  

A clear and comprehensive overview of research methods by Emerald Publishing. It includes: crowdsourcing as a research tool; mixed methods research; case study; discourse analysis; ground theory; repertory grid; ethnographic method and participant observation; interviews; focus group; action research; analysis of qualitative data; survey design; questionnaires; statistics; experiments; empirical research; literature review; secondary data and archival materials; data collection. 

Doing your dissertation during the COVID-19 pandemic  

Resources providing guidance on doing dissertation research during the pandemic: Online research methods; Secondary data sources; Webinars, conferences and podcasts; 

  • Virtual Focus Groups Guidance on managing virtual focus groups

5 Minute Methods Videos

The following are a series of useful videos that introduce research methods in five minutes. These resources have been produced by lecturers and students with the University of Westminster's School of Media and Communication. 

5 Minute Method logo

Case Study Research

Research Ethics

Quantitative Content Analysis 

Sequential Analysis 

Qualitative Content Analysis 

Thematic Analysis 

Social Media Research 

Mixed Method Research 

Procedural Method

In this part, provide an accurate, detailed account of the methods and procedures that were used in the study or the experiment (if applicable!). 

Include specifics about participants, sample, materials, design and methods. 

If the research involves human subjects, then include a detailed description of who and how many participated along with how the participants were selected.  

Describe all materials used for the study, including equipment, written materials and testing instruments. 

Identify the study's design and any variables or controls employed. 

Write out the steps in the order that they were completed. 

Indicate what participants were asked to do, how measurements were taken and any calculations made to raw data collected. 

Specify statistical techniques applied to the data to reach your conclusions. 

Provide evidence that you incorporated rigor into your research. This is the quality of being thorough and accurate and considers the logic behind your research design. 

Highlight any drawbacks that may have limited your ability to conduct your research thoroughly. 

You have to provide details to allow others to replicate the experiment and/or verify the data, to test the validity of the research. 

Bibliography

Cottrell, S. (2014). Dissertations and project reports: a step by step guide. Hampshire, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lombard, E. (2010). Primary and secondary sources.  The Journal of Academic Librarianship , 36(3), 250-253

Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2015).  Research Methods for Business Students.  New York: Pearson Education. 

Specht, D. (2019).  The Media And Communications Study Skills Student Guide . London: University of Westminster Press.  

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Research Methods

Secondary research.

  • Primary Research

What is Secondary Research?

Advantages and disadvantages of secondary research, secondary research in literature reviews, secondary research - going beyond literature reviews, main stages of secondary research, useful resources, using material on this page.

  • Quantitative Research This link opens in a new window
  • Qualitative Research This link opens in a new window
  • Being Critical This link opens in a new window
  • Subject LibGuides This link opens in a new window

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Secondary research

Secondary research uses research and data that has already been carried out. It is sometimes referred to as desk research. It is a good starting point for any type of research as it enables you to analyse what research has already been undertaken and identify any gaps. 

You may only need to carry out secondary research for your assessment or you may need to use secondary research as a starting point, before undertaking your own primary research .

Searching for both primary and secondary sources can help to ensure that you are up to date with what research has already been carried out in your area of interest and to identify the key researchers in the field.

"Secondary sources are the books, articles, papers and similar materials written or produced by others that help you to form your background understanding of the subject. You would use these to find out about experts’ findings, analyses or perspectives on the issue and decide whether to draw upon these explicitly in your research." (Cottrell, 2014, p. 123).

Examples of secondary research sources include:.

  • journal articles
  • official statistics, such as government reports or organisations which have collected and published data

Primary research  involves gathering data which has not been collected before. Methods to collect it can include interviews, focus groups, controlled trials and case studies. Secondary research often comments on and analyses this primary research.

Gopalakrishnan and Ganeshkumar (2013, p. 10) explain the difference between primary and secondary research:

"Primary research is collecting data directly from patients or population, while secondary research is the analysis of data already collected through primary research. A review is an article that summarizes a number of primary studies and may draw conclusions on the topic of interest which can be traditional (unsystematic) or systematic".

Secondary Data

As secondary data has already been collected by someone else for their research purposes, it may not cover all of the areas of interest for your research topic. This research will need to be analysed alongside other research sources and data in the same subject area in order to confirm, dispute or discuss the findings in a wider context.

"Secondary source data, as the name infers, provides second-hand information. The data come ‘pre-packaged’, their form and content reflecting the fact that they have been produced by someone other than the researcher and will not have been produced specifically for the purpose of the research project. The data, none the less, will have some relevance for the research in terms of the information they contain, and the task for the researcher is to extract that information and re-use it in the context of his/her own research project." (Denscombe, 2021, p. 268)

In the video below Dr. Benedict Wheeler (Senior Research Fellow at the European Center for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter Medical School) discusses secondary data analysis. Secondary data was used for his research on how the environment affects health and well-being and utilising this secondary data gave access to a larger data set.

As with all research, an important part of the process is to critically evaluate any sources you use. There are tools to help with this in the  Being Critical  section of the guide.

Louise Corti, from the UK Data Archive, discusses using secondary data  in the video below. T he importance of evaluating secondary research is discussed - this is to ensure the data is appropriate for your research and to investigate how the data was collected.

There are advantages and disadvantages to secondary research:

Advantages:

  • Usually low cost
  • Easily accessible
  • Provides background information to clarify / refine research areas
  • Increases breadth of knowledge
  • Shows different examples of research methods
  • Can highlight gaps in the research and potentially outline areas of difficulty
  • Can incorporate a wide range of data
  • Allows you to identify opposing views and supporting arguments for your research topic
  • Highlights the key researchers and work which is being undertaken within the subject area
  • Helps to put your research topic into perspective

Disadvantages

  • Can be out of date
  • Might be unreliable if it is not clear where or how the research has been collected - remember to think critically
  • May not be applicable to your specific research question as the aims will have had a different focus

Literature reviews 

Secondary research for your major project may take the form of a literature review . this is where you will outline the main research which has already been written on your topic. this might include theories and concepts connected with your topic and it should also look to see if there are any gaps in the research., as the criteria and guidance will differ for each school, it is important that you check the guidance which you have been given for your assessment. this may be in blackboard and you can also check with your supervisor..

The videos below include some insights from academics regarding the importance of literature reviews.

Secondary research which goes beyond literature reviews

For some dissertations/major projects there might only be a literature review (discussed above ). For others there could be a literature review followed by primary research and for others the literature review might be followed by further secondary research. 

You may be asked to write a literature review which will form a background chapter to give context to your project and provide the necessary history for the research topic. However, you may then also be expected to produce the rest of your project using additional secondary research methods, which will need to produce results and findings which are distinct from the background chapter t o avoid repetition .

Remember, as the criteria and guidance will differ for each School, it is important that you check the guidance which you have been given for your assessment. This may be in Blackboard and you can also check with your supervisor.

Although this type of secondary research will go beyond a literature review, it will still rely on research which has already been undertaken. And,  "just as in primary research, secondary research designs can be either quantitative, qualitative, or a mixture of both strategies of inquiry" (Manu and Akotia, 2021, p. 4) .

Your secondary research may use the literature review to focus on a specific theme, which is then discussed further in the main project. Or it may use an alternative approach. Some examples are included below.  Remember to speak with your supervisor if you are struggling to define these areas.

Some approaches of how to conduct secondary research include:

  • A systematic review is a structured literature review that involves identifying all of the relevant primary research using a rigorous search strategy to answer a focused research question.
  • This involves comprehensive searching which is used to identify themes or concepts across a number of relevant studies. 
  • The review will assess the q uality of the research and provide a summary and synthesis of all relevant available research on the topic.
  • The systematic review  LibGuide goes into more detail about this process (The guide is aimed a PhD/Researcher students. However, students on other levels of study may find parts of the guide helpful too).
  • Scoping reviews aim to identify and assess available research on a specific topic (which can include ongoing research). 
  • They are "particularly useful when a body of literature has not yet been comprehensively reviewed, or exhibits a complex or heterogeneous nature not amenable to a more precise systematic review of the evidence. While scoping reviews may be conducted to determine the value and probable scope of a full systematic review, they may also be undertaken as exercises in and of themselves to summarize and disseminate research findings, to identify research gaps, and to make recommendations for the future research."  (Peters et al., 2015) .
  • This is designed to  summarise the current knowledge and provide priorities for future research.
  • "A state-of-the-art review will often highlight new ideas or gaps in research with no official quality assessment." (Baguss, 2020) .
  • "Bibliometric analysis is a popular and rigorous method for exploring and analyzing large volumes of scientific data." (Donthu et al., 2021)
  • Quantitative methods and statistics are used to analyse the bibliographic data of published literature. This can be used to measure the impact of authors, publications, or topics within a subject area.

The bibliometric analysis often uses the data from a citation source such as Scopus or Web of Science .

  • This is a technique used to combine the statistic results of prior quantitative studies in order to increase precision and validity.
  • "It goes beyond the parameters of a literature review, which assesses existing literature, to actually perform calculations based on the results collated, thereby coming up with new results" (Curtis and Curtis, 2011, p. 220)

(Adapted from: Grant and Booth, 2009, cited in Sarhan and Manu, 2021, p. 72 )

  • Grounded Theory is used to create explanatory theory from data which has been collected.
  • "Grounded theory data analysis strategies can be used with different types of data, including secondary data." ( Whiteside, Mills and McCalman, 2012 )
  • This allows you to use a specific theory or theories which can then be applied to your chosen topic/research area.
  • You could focus on one case study which is analysed in depth, or you could examine more than one in order to compare and contrast the important aspects of your research question.
  • "Good case studies often begin with a predicament that is poorly comprehended and is inadequately explained or traditionally rationalised by numerous conflicting accounts. Therefore, the aim is to comprehend an existent problem and to use the acquired understandings to develop new theoretical outlooks or explanations."  ( Papachroni and Lochrie, 2015, p. 81 )

Main stages of secondary research for a dissertation/major project

In general, the main stages for conducting secondary research for your dissertation or major project will include:

Click on the image below to access the reading list which includes resources used in this guide as well as some additional useful resources.

Link to online reading list of additional resources and further reading

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License .

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Conducting secondary analysis of qualitative data: Should we, can we, and how?

Nicole ruggiano.

School of Social Work, University of Alabama, USA

Tam E Perry

School of Social Work, Wayne State University, USA

While secondary data analysis of quantitative data has become commonplace and encouraged across disciplines, the practice of secondary data analysis with qualitative data has met more criticism and concerns regarding potential methodological and ethical problems. Though commentary about qualitative secondary data analysis has increased, little is known about the current state of qualitative secondary data analysis or how researchers are conducting secondary data analysis with qualitative data. This critical interpretive synthesis examined research articles (n = 71) published between 2006 and 2016 that involved qualitative secondary data analysis and assessed the context, purpose, and methodologies that were reported. Implications of findings are discussed, with particular focus on recommended guidelines and best practices of conducting qualitative secondary data analysis.

There has been increasing commentary in the literature regarding secondary data analysis (SDA) with qualitative data. Many critics assert that there are potential methodological and ethical problems regarding such practice, especially when qualitative data is shared and SDA is conducted by researchers not involved with data collection. However, less has been written on how sharing and SDA of qualitative data is actually conducted by scholars. To better understand this practice with qualitative research, this critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) appraised studies that have involved SDA with qualitative data, examining their context, analytical techniques, and methods applied to promote rigor and ethical conduct of research. Following this analysis, the strengths and weaknesses of such practice and strategies for promoting the advancement of science will be discussed in light of findings.

SDA involves investigations where data collected for a previous study is analyzed – either by the same researcher(s) or different researcher(s) – to explore new questions or use different analysis strategies that were not a part of the primary analysis ( Szabo and Strang, 1997 ). For research involving quantitative data, SDA, and the process of sharing data for the purpose of SDA, has become commonplace. Though not without its limitations, Hinds et al. (1997) argue that it is a “respected, common, and cost-effective approach to maximizing the usefulness of collected data” (p. 408). They describe four approaches to SDA: (1) research where SDA focuses on a different unit of analysis from that of the parent study; (2) research involving a more in-depth analysis of themes from the parent study with a subset of data from that study; (3) analyses of data from the parent study that appear important, but not sufficiently focused on in the primary analysis; and (4) analyses with a dataset that includes data from a parent study and newly-collected data that refines the parent study’s purpose or research questions ( Hinds et al., 1997 ).

Scholars have also promoted the practice of sharing data for the purpose of SDA, asserting that it may answer new research questions, as well as increase sample sizes and statistical power ( Perrino et al., 2013 ). Sharing data also allows for the generation of new knowledge without the costs of administration and implementation of additional data collection and maximizes the output of large-scale studies that are funded by public or private sources. Recognizing the value of sharing data, researchers and institutions have created an infrastructure to promote such practice by: making datasets more available through the process of archiving; making archived data available through a number of media, such as the internet, CD-ROMS, and other removable storage devices; and documenting and providing detailed information about the sampling, design, and data collection strategies from such parent studies so that researchers can better understand the qualities of the data they obtain for future use ( Hox and Boeije, 2005 ; Perrino et al., 2013 ).

Concerns about secondary data analysis when using qualitative data

The primary concerns about SDA with qualitative data surround rigor and ethics from a number of stakeholder perspectives, including research participants, funders, and the researchers themselves. Heaton (2004) suggests that a strength of secondary analysis of qualitative data is that it relieves the burden of participation from research participants and community partners who collaborate with researchers to identify, access, and recruit research participants. However, we must also consider how SDA fits within guidelines for duplicate publishing of qualitative research ( Morse, 2007 ) in an era of a quantity-driven publishing as one mark of scholarliness.

Debates regarding rigor in qualitative SDA.

Despite the demonstrated benefits from its practice in quantitative studies, sharing qualitative data for SDA has not been as widely promoted and even has received considerable criticisms in the literature. One criticism relates to the socio-cultural-political context under which qualitative studies are implemented. As highlighted by Walters (2009) , qualitative research involves the collection and interpretation of subjective data that often is shaped by the social, cultural, and political realities that are evident at the time of data collection. When such data are re-analyzed or reinterpreted during another time period, the changes in social, cultural and/or political norms may result in investigators exploring research questions or utilizing analysis strategies that are inappropriate or they may misinterpret the original data. Mauthner et al. (1998) assert that the process of re-analyzing data can be different even for researchers who are revisiting their own data that was collected at an earlier time. However, they also report that some researchers may find benefits to this process. For instance, some researchers may find themselves less emotionally invested in the data and therefore more objective, though, other researchers may find this emotional distance to result in less immersion in the data. Thorne (1994 ) has provided a number of approaches to increasing rigor in SDA, such as audit trails and critical and reflective constant comparison. However, it is unclear the extent to which such practices actually overcome challenges that compromise qualitative SDA, such as inappropriate coding and interpretation of data and/or lack of first-hand knowledge of data by SDA researchers ( Thorne, 1994 ).

Debates regarding ethics in qualitative secondary data analysis.

In addition to questions of methodological rigor, there are criticisms regarding ethical dilemmas posed by SDA of qualitative data. Many criticisms center on basic questions of research ethics – the risks to informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymity when such data are archived and/or shared ( Morrow et al., 2014 ). For instance, Parry and Mauthner (2004) argue that the in-depth nature of qualitative data may pose particular challenges to de-identifying data for the purpose of archiving it for shared use. The descriptiveness of the data alone may allow others to identify respondents, while removing such descriptors may compromise the quality of the data.

There are also arguments that qualitative data is not created by researchers alone – they represent the “joint endeavor between respondent and researcher” and therefore allowing other researchers to re-use data poses significant ethical and legal dilemmas by disregarding the respondent’s ownership of the data ( Parry and Mauthner, 2004 : 142). Parry and Mauthner (2004) write that the collaborative effort of creating qualitative data also poses ethical dilemmas for qualitative researchers, who often offer personal information to respondents in an attempt to develop rapport. Therefore, they risk breeches in anonymity/confidentiality when such data are shared for future use.

To date, there has been increasing dialogue and controversy surrounding the practice of SDA with qualitative data. However, few studies have examined how qualitative SDA is being conducted or guidelines on conducting such investigations with high amounts of rigor and ethics. To address this issue, a CIS of studies identified as having qualitative SDA as a methodology was undertaken to address the following questions:

  • What is the extent and context under which SDA is conducted with qualitative data?
  • What are common approaches and purposes for conducting SDA with qualitative data?
  • In what ways do researchers maintain rigor and ethics in qualitative SDA? and
  • What limitations in qualitative SDA have been identified in practice?

Methodology

Although systematic reviews are commonly used to synthesize quantitative studies on a specific topic, Dixon-Woods et al. (2006) argue that the nature of systematic reviews and their focus on examining studies that emphasize testing theories is inappropriate when different types of evidence are being synthesized and/or there is a need for interpretation of studies. This review involved a CIS of literature that was identified through multiple search strategies. CIS differs from quantitative systematic reviews in several ways: (1) it uses broad review questions to guide the identification and analysis of studies, rather than specific hypotheses; (2) it relies on sources other than bibliographic databases to identify studies for inclusion; (3) it does not use a preconceived hierarchy of methods to guide study inclusion (e.g. only including randomized control trials, due to their perceived higher level of rigor); and (4) it uses ongoing inductive and interpretive strategies in the identification and analysis of studies, which may result in ongoing revision to the guiding review questions or revisiting search criteria and/or strategies ( Dixon-Woods et al., 2006 ). CIS differs from meta-ethnography in that the latter involves a more interpretive way of linking ethnographic findings from multiple studies, often on a specific topic ( Flemming, 2010 ). By contrast, the current analysis involves the interpretation and comparison of context and methodologies of studies focused on a wide variety of topics.

Eligibility criteria

This CIS identified and assessed research published in peer-reviewed, scholarly journals between the years 1996 and 2016. They also had to meet the following inclusion criteria: (a) involving analysis of data derived through qualitative methodologies; (b) research involving social or health-related research with human subjects; (c) use of SDA or repurposing of parent study data for subsequent analysis; and (d) research published in English. For the purpose of time sensitivity, unpublished dissertations were excluded from the final review. Given prior assertions that not all qualitative studies using SDA are identified as being such ( Hinds et al., 1997 ), the researchers cast a wide net and did not impose any additional exclusion criteria based on the perceived quality or approach to methodology, analysis, or focus area ( Dixon-Woods et al., 2006 ; Walsh and Downe, 2005 ).

Sources and process of search

Studies were identified between May and June of 2016 (see figure 1 ) by searching through the following eight databases: Expanded Academic ASAP, EBSCO Host, PsychInfo, PubMed, Social Services Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, and Web of Science. The titles and/or abstracts were reviewed for more than 10,373 results that were yielded from the initial search. For each database, a search was conducted using combinations of the following search terms: qualitative research OR qualitative analysis OR qualitative study AND secondary data analysis OR secondary analysis OR combining data* OR sharing data* OR integrating data* OR two studies OR two field studies. Among these studies, 76 unduplicated studies were selected for full-text review. A second search strategy took place in September of 2016, where peer-reviewed journals that are dedicated to qualitative research and have impact factors (International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Qualitative Health Research, Qualitative Inquiry, Qualitative Research, Qualitative Social Work, and Qualitative Sociology) were searched. This subsequent search yielded 49 additional articles selected for full-text review. Among the 125 articles that were fully-reviewed, 54 did not meet the inclusion criteria and were excluded from the final analysis.

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Search strategy and results for systematic review.

Appraisal of studies

The approach for appraising the included studies were derived from a number of recommendations in the literature ( Barnett-Page and Thomas, 2009 ; Schoenberg and McAuley, 2007 ; Walsh and Downe, 2005 ). Given that the current CIS focuses on an analysis of context and methodologies, rather than the findings of qualitative research on a specific topic, the appraisal of primary studies focused on the inclusion, description, and comparison/contrast of methods across the following categories:

  • Relationship of researchers with parent study: Here, the extent to which researchers conducting the SDA were involved with the parent study or studies was assessed. The relationships were identified by: authors self-citing the parent study, authors describing their contribution to the parent study, and authors describing their use of other researchers’ data or archived data.
  • Context of secondary analysis: For this category, articles were assessed by the context under which SDA took place. For instance, whether the data from parent study were analyzed post hoc, whether entire datasets or subsets were analyzed in the SDA, whether data from multiple studies were combined, or whether new research questions or analytical approaches were explicitly used. It was also assessed whether the secondary analysis aimed at advancing theory regarding a certain topic or methodology.
  • Details about parent study: To understand the context under which the data were initially collected in the parent studies, articles were assessed for whether they included details about the parent studies, such as their: context and methodologies, IRB approval, funding sources, and process of sharing data (when applicable).
  • Ethical considerations in secondary analysis: Articles were assessed for whether ethical considerations were described that were specific to secondary analysis. For instance, whether researchers made additional steps in the SDA to protect human subjects who participated in the parent study or descriptions of obtaining IRB approval for SDA.
  • Methodological rigor in secondary analysis: Articles were assessed for whether the researchers described aspects specific to the secondary analysis that were used to increase rigor, including descriptions of the SDA process or specific strategies to improve rigor.
  • Methodological challenges in secondary analysis: Articles were assessed for whether the researchers identified aspects of SDA that created challenges or limitations for their findings.

Both authors assessed each article independently and created a thematic chart based on these assessment criteria. Discrepancies in this assessment were resolved through discussion until agreement was reached. The authors acknowledge that the assessment is based on the published text, and thus, may not reflect further details outlined in other articles on the research or details not published. For instance, in cases where researchers did not identify obtaining IRB approval specifically for the SDA, that does not necessarily mean that the authors did not obtain IRB approval.

Seventy-one studies were included in this analysis. A table listing the studies and their appraisal using the criteria above can be accessed as an online supplementary appendix file. Most of the studies (n = 51, 71.8%) that met the inclusion criteria involved research focused on physical and mental health research, with fewer studies focused on social or economic issues.

Authors of these qualitative studies used a myriad of terms to describe their efforts to “repurpose parent study data for subsequent analysis,” including secondary data analysis, post hoc analysis, re-analysis, and supplemental analysis. Hence, the term qualitative secondary data analysis is not used consistently in the qualitative research literature. Through the appraisal of these studies, three central themes emerged that shed light on the current state of qualitative SDA and relate to current controversies to such practices within the literature: (1) the relationship of the SDA study to the parent study or studies ; (2) ethical considerations and human subject protections in qualitative SDA; and (3) attention given to methods and rigor in writing about primary and secondary studies . These themes, along with their sub-themes, are described in detail below. Please note that when interpreting these thematic findings that the articles were assessed based on what information they included or did not include in the reporting of their studies and that the findings should not be used to assess actual rigor or quality in methodologies of individual studies.

Relationship of the SDA study to the parent study or studies

In most cases (n = 60, 84.5%), qualitative SDA among the included studies involved researchers re-examining qualitative data from parent studies that they were involved with to explore new research questions or analytic strategies. Therefore, most were familiar with the methodologies and data of the parent studies and were able to write about the parent studies and quality of data in significant detail. Variation in relationships between parent and secondary studies was generally based on the following characteristics:

Involvement of researchers across studies.

In the majority of cases (n = 60, 84.5%), it was clear when the researchers conducting the SDA were involved in the parent study, as indicated by researchers self-citing their previous work on the parent study or directly referring to their participation in the parent study (e.g. We conducted in-depth interviews ...). However, it was not always clear when new investigators were included on the research team for SDA and therefore, the exact number of SDA researchers who were also involved with the parent study was not always easily determined. In some cases, the relationship could be assumed (but was not assumed for the current analysis), such as those where the SDA researchers did not explicitly indicate their involvement with the parent study, but described that the study was conducted at their institution and/or their IRB approved the study for research with human subjects (see Bergstrom et al., 2009 ). There were other cases where researchers shared their data with one another and combined data from independent parent studies for the purpose of SDA and indicated that they were involved with one or more of the studies that data were derived from, but not all of the studies (see Sallee and Harris, 2011 ; Taylor and Brown, 2011 ). Hence, the in-depth knowledge of parent study methodologies and data by each researcher was limited.

There were a smaller number of cases (n = 8, 11.3%) where researchers reported that they conducted an SDA with qualitative data derived from an qualitative data archive where the author(s) did not indicate having an affiliation with the archive team (see Kelly et al., 2013 ; Wilbanks et al., 2016 ). In these cases, it was common for SDA researchers to describe the methods used to collect the data for the archive, or at a minimum, describe the purpose and source of the data archive. Very few studies included in this analysis involved researchers conducting SDA using data that they were not involved with at all and/or not obtained through an archive. The most common case for this (n = 3, 4.3%) involved researchers who conducted analyses with data collected through program or government evaluations (see Hohl and Gaskell, 2008 ; Romero et al., 2012 ; Wint and Frank, 2006 ). One notable case involved an SDA using data collected by unrelated independent researchers to reanalyze classic sociological research ( Fielding and Fielding, 2000 ).

Context and purpose of SDA.

In almost all cases of research included in this analysis (n = 68, 95.7%), the SDA researchers provided the context and methodologies of the parent studies, though these descriptions varied in detail. Most were explicit in whether the data used in the SDA involved an entire dataset, a subset of data, or combination of data from the parent study or studies. The most common reason (n = 57, 80.2%) to conduct SDA was to explore new research questions post hoc that would advance theory in a particular area. In a smaller number of cases (n = 18, 25.4%), SDA was conducted post hoc to advance methodology. For instance, Myers and Lampropoulou (2016) conducted an SDA with data from several studies to examine the practice of identifying laughter in transcriptions of audio data. In other cases, SDA was conducted to demonstrate novel analytic approaches (see Henderson et al., 2012 ; Patel et al., 2015) or approaches to research (see Morse and Pooler, 2002 ; Schwartz et al., 2010 ).

Clarity in distinguishing between primary and secondary analyses.

While it was clear in most studies, there lacked consistency in the identification and description of SDA among the articles assessed. Some studies did not identify as being an SDA, but described methods and purposes that diverged from those of the parent studies and/or indicated that the analysis of the data for SDA was completed after the primary analysis in the parent study. In other cases, the researchers identified the research as being SDA, but it was not clear if the purpose or aims of the SDA diverged from the initial analysis or occurred subsequent to the parent study. For instance, Cortes et al. (2016) indicated that their study was considered SDA, because the theme that emerged wasn’t sufficiently explored before the IRB protocol period ended and therefore the findings being presented actually emerged during the primary analysis. In Coltart and Henwood’s (2012) study, they reported that they “routinely crossed conventional boundaries between primary and secondary analysis” (p. 39).

Ethical considerations and human subject protections in qualitative SDA

The articles assessed in this analysis also varied in the extent to which they discussed ethical considerations and protections of human subjects. The following is an analysis of the extent to which ethical issues were identified and/or addressed in the parent and/or SDA research presented in the articles.

Attention given to ethical safeguards in writing about primary and secondary studies.

For the majority of studies assessed, it was most common for researchers to provide information regarding IRB approval and/or ethical considerations given in the parent study methodology (n = 26, 36.6%) with fewer cases indicating that IRB approval or exemption was specifically obtained or ethical considerations were made in their effort to conduct SDA. Most articles indicated that IRB approval was obtained for the parent study with no mention about IRB review of the SDA (n = 19, 26.8%). In 17 cases (23.9%), the researchers indicated that IRB approval was obtained for the SDA study alone or for both the parent study and SDA. In one of these cases, a researcher using archived data reported that IRB approval was sought out, but not required for the scope of their study ( Heaton, 2015 ).

Examples of ethical procedures in secondary analysis.

Some researchers described steps for protecting human subjects that extended to the SDA, such as de-identifying data before SDA was conducted. Very few studies (n = 5, 7.0%) specifically indicated that participants in the parent studies consented to having their data available for SDA. Some researchers identified ethical considerations that are intrinsic to the nature of SDA, such as their efforts to conduct SDA in order to not overburden vulnerable populations that were participating in research (see Turcotte et al., 2015 ). Also less common was for researchers to report ethical dilemmas or concerns in conducting SDA, such as Coltart and Henwood’s (2012) research with longitudinal qualitative data, were the researchers presented concerns about anonymity and ethics regarding archived data.

Attention given to methods and rigor in writing about primary and secondary studies

Finally, articles varied in the extent to which they described issues of rigor and limitations stemming specifically from the SDA. There was variation on the attention researchers gave to describing methods and rigor in the parent and SDA studies, their approaches to increasing rigor in SDA, and the limitations they identified that were specific from conducting an SDA.

Attention and focus of parent and secondary studies.

For most of the articles appraised (n = 60, 84.5%), researchers provided detail on the methodologies used to collect and analyze data in the parent study. The level of detail of these descriptions varied significantly, with some researchers providing a few sentences on the overall methodological approach to data collection in the parent study with little to no detail on primary analysis, to extensive sections of research articles being dedicated to the methods of the parent studies. Some researchers also reported the funding sources of the parent studies (n = 28, 39.4%), which may further help readers assess bias in the SDA. Many studies also described the process of SDA as being distinctively different from primary analysis, though in some articles, it was difficult to assess how SDA different from primary data analysis.

Examples of rigor in secondary analysis.

Some studies presented strategies used by researchers to increase rigor in the SDA study. Many studies (n = 25, 35.2%) reported common practices in qualitative data analysis to increase rigor, such as member checking, memoing, triangulation, peer debriefing, inter-rater agreement, and maintaining audit trails. In some articles, researchers indicated inclusion of members of the parent study research team or new researchers with expertise in the area of focus for the SDA with the intent of increasing rigor. Other articles asserted that the research questions explored through SDA were “a good fit” with those of the parent study, and therefore increased the trustworthiness of findings. Only a few studies reported that steps were taken in SDA to analyze data with a lens that was not influenced by the researchers’ involvement with the parent study, such as using clean, uncoded transcripts from parent study (see Williams and Collins, 2002 ) or purposefully reading transcripts with new perspective (see Moran and Russo-Netzer, 2016 ). Some articles reported that a strength in the SDA was that the researchers involved were very familiar with the parent study methodology and data. In one case ( Volume and Farris, 2000 ), the researchers indicated that one source of rigor was that emerging findings during analysis could not influence future interviews, since the data were already all collected, which may minimize bias.

Identification of limitations in secondary analysis.

Most articles reported limitations in their studies that are often reported in qualitative research (e.g. small samples, not generalizable), though most of these descriptions did not relate specifically to SDA. About half (n = 36, 50.7%) of articles identified limitations in their study that resulted from the nature of their SDA, such as: not being able to return to participants for member checking or conduct further interviews to clarify or validate thematic findings in the SDA; conducting research with one purpose using data that were collected for another purpose, which limited the number of cases or extent to which a thematic finding could be identified; and conducting qualitative research with data that may not be as relevant as when it was first collected, given changes in context and/or time that may have influenced the data if collected in present day.

In response to growing dialogue and criticisms about conducting SDA with qualitative data, this CIS set out to better understand the context of qualitative SDA in practice, with particular attention given to issues of methodological rigor and ethical principles. Overall, 71 articles met the inclusion criteria and were appraised, a number that is expectedly dwarfed by the number of quantitative studies that are identified as using SDA. However, thematic findings in this assessment address controversies in the literature and also raise issues in conducting SDA with qualitative data that can be used to guide future research and assessment of qualitative SDA studies.

The need for better and consistent definitions of qualitative SDA

Revisiting Hinds et al.’s (1997 ) approaches to qualitative SDA described earlier, most qualitative SDA studies identified and appraised through this CIS best reflect the approaches of conducting a more in-depth analysis of themes from the parent study with a subset of data from that study and conducting an analysis of data from the parent study that appear important, but not sufficiently focused on in the primary analysis , though all four approaches they identified were observed among studies. However, the main concern that arose from this CIS was that researchers often failed to describe the differences between primary and secondary analysis (or at least the relationship between the two analyses). Many described SDA strategies that were similar in scope and appeared to have been conducted in close timing to the primary analysis. As a result, it was not always clear cut if findings were more related to primary analysis than an actual secondary analysis.

There were also cases where researchers described conducting qualitative SDA, but did not label it as such. As a result, one of the primary limitations of this CIS is that the extent to which qualitative SDA studies were excluded from search results and therefore not included in this synthesis is unclear. Scholars can improve this issue by explicitly referring to qualitative SDA as such and describing the study methods in a way that make clear how SDA differed from primary analysis in scope, context, and/or methodology. Otherwise, given the fluid and/or emerging nature of many qualitative analyses and the fact that many researchers conduct qualitative SDA with their own data, there are limitations on the extent to which audiences can fully appraise such research.

Maintaining ethical standards in qualitative SDA

It is generally accepted that almost all research involving human subjects, including research involving SDA, should be reviewed by an IRB and determined if the study is exempt from further review or approved based on its treatment of human subjects. However, the majority of articles included in this analysis reported that IRB approval was obtained for the parent study with no mention of whether review was sought for the SDA or if the SDA was included under the same protocol. In the case of quantitative SDA, this issue may be more clearly explained in research reporting, since data is often shared among researchers who were not involved with the parent study and therefore SDA researchers would not be able to claim to be covered under the protocol approval for the parent study. As was found through this CIS, many qualitative SDA researchers are conducting analysis with their own data and may feel that the SDA is covered under the original protocol approval. However, it is unclear if this is always appropriate, given that many SDA investigations involve new research questions, unit of analysis, or focus from which the participants of the parent study may have consented to.

In addition, specific safeguards aimed at protecting human subjects should always be taken in qualitative SDA and described in the research reporting. For researchers who are interested in conducting studies that may be open to SDA in the future, this may mean taking specific steps that would make additional IRB review unnecessary (when the same researchers are conducting further analysis) or eligible for exemption. For instance, qualitative researchers should have participants consent to SDA of their data during the recruitment process or explain to participants during the consent process that researchers may report findings from their data that are unexpectedly derived and therefore not feasibly explained in the purpose and goals of the study through the initial consent form. They can also design interview and focus group guides that could more easily be de-identified for researchers to use later and think critically about whether additional safeguards should be in place to protect the participants in primary studies. Researchers should report about these procedures so that their audience can adequately access the ethical considerations taken in their research.

Ways to move forward

Promoting qualitative data sharing..

While much of the literature on the topic has criticized the use of qualitative data for SDA, some scholars have recognized its potential benefit to the state of science and have offered suggestions to promote this practice. Drawing upon the literature, Dargentas (2006) identified several ways of advancing the practice of SDA of qualitative data, including: increasing access to archived qualitative data, training researchers on using computer assisted qualitative analysis software, and addressing issues related to qualitative methodologies (p. 3). Such efforts have initiated, but have been slower to develop than those for quantitative data. Examples include the UK Data Service, the Timescapes Archive (University of Leeds) and The Oxford Health Experiences Research Group (University of Oxford).

Arguments have also been made that qualitative researchers can deploy strategies to collect data that is suitable and appropriate for SDA by other investigators. Walters (2009) asserts that through effective use of reflexivity, qualitative researchers can collect data that identifies and documents the socio-cultural-political context under which the data are collected so the dataset is relevant and important for future use by other researchers. However, Parry and Mauthner (2004) caution that researchers who develop plans at the beginning of their projects to collect qualitative data that may be shared in the future may run the risk of restraining themselves, through the questions that they ask, data collection strategies, or even their own contributions to creating the data (e.g. offering personal information to respondents to develop rapport) in a way that they would not if they were creating the data for solely their own use. This could compromise the quality of the data.

Recommendations

After our review of the literature, we offer three sets of recommendations to give SDA common anchors in qualitative research, designed to stress its strengths and reveal its limitations.

1. Increasing clarity and transparency in SDA.

We recommend a clearer and consistent definition of qualitative SDA where some or all of the following information is included in manuscripts. This includes: (1a) describing if and how the SDA researchers were involved with the parent study or studies; and (1b) a distinction between primary and secondary analysis should be provided so that the readers can determine if findings reflect the emerging nature of qualitative research findings or a new approach or purpose for re-analysis. Such descriptions will help readers evaluate the researchers’ familiarity of the parent study methods, sample, data, and context. This will also help readers evaluate whether findings were the result of the emerging process of qualitative analysis, as opposed to SDA, which ideally would be a new analysis with a different purpose or approach from the parent study, even if the researchers remain the same across studies. A number of exemplary studies were identified that helped create clear and transparent understandings about the difference between the parent and SDA studies, including: Molloy et al. (2015) , Myers and Lampropoulou’s (2016) , and Pleschberger et al. (2011) .

2. Ethics in conducting qualitative SDA studies.

The ethics of conducting qualitative SDA is one of the most common topics written about in the literature about this practice. Hence, it was surprising that many studies in this CIS did not discuss IRB approval or strategies for protecting human subjects in the SDA study. It may be that researchers and peer reviewers assume that IRB approval was given or extended from the parent study’s protocol. However, researchers should take responsibility to report their efforts in protecting human subjects through qualitative SDA. Some specific recommendations include: (2a) clarity about how the researchers obtained approval or exemption for the SDA; and (2b) methods to protect human subjects in the SDA, such as de-identified data, or consent forms that outlined SDA.

3. Increasing rigor and identifying our limitations in qualitative SDA.

Researchers are expected to maximize rigor in their research methodologies and identify limitations in their studies that may influence their audience’s interpretation of findings. However, in this CIS it was found that only about half of the articles identified how the nature of SDA may affect their findings. Some recommendations for increasing rigor and transparency include: (3a) employing and describing strategies for increasing rigor within the SDA, such as including research team members from the parent study, including new research team members with specific expertise or fresh perspectives uninfluenced by the primary analysis, conducting SDA with uncoded transcripts, or other methods (audit trails, peer debriefing, member checking); and (3b) identifying limitations in qualitative SDA, such as how time or context may have changed the relevance of the data and/or the extent to which the goals and purpose of the SDA research were a good fit with those of the parent study. Examples of SDA studies that described rigor include: Borg et al. (2013) , Chau et al.’s (2008 ), and Mayer and Rosenfeld (2006) .

Qualitative research often involves long data collection sessions and/or participants who share intimate, sensitive and detailed information about themselves with researchers to promote the goal of generating new knowledge that may benefit society. SDA of qualitative research is one way to advance this goal while minimizing the burden of research participants. Although SDA of qualitative data may not be appropriate or ethical in all cases, researchers should take the responsibility of recognizing when qualitative data are appropriate and safe to conduct SDA and/ or find creative ways that new studies may be designed that promote SDA. In such efforts, researchers should also take responsibility for identifying ways of promoting rigor and ethical research practices in SDA and clearly identify and describe these efforts so that the academic community can appropriately appraise such work while also learn from one another to advance methodology.

Acknowledgments

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Contributor Information

Nicole Ruggiano, School of Social Work, University of Alabama, USA.

Tam E Perry, School of Social Work, Wayne State University, USA.

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A Four-Step Guide to Conducting Secondary Research For Your Dissertation

Secondary research is a useful strategy to obtain data and support your ideas when conducting research for your dissertation. It will always be challenging to write a large project like a dissertation all by yourself (professional essay service, 2019). In dissertation secondary research, a specific study subject or topic is investigated utilizing published data sources, such as books, journals, and internet databases. Although conducting secondary research may seem simple, it necessitates a systematic approach to guarantee that you locate and utilize the most relevant and trustworthy sources.

Table of Contents

What Secondary Research Is Used For?

One of the main purposes of secondary research is to thoroughly grasp the body of material that already exists on a certain topic. It frequently serves as a framework for the study and helps contextualize a research topic or hypothesis. Researchers can also find gaps in the literature and areas that need more inquiry by using secondary sources.

Another purpose of secondary research is, secondary research can provide useful insights into the research methodology and analytical techniques employed by other researchers, which can inform the design and implementation of the current study.

Types Of Secondary Research

Dissertation secondary research can be split into two major categories: qualitative and quantitative. While quantitative research is used to gather and analyze numerical data, qualitative research examines individuals’ or groups’ subjective experiences and viewpoints. Other sorts of secondary research fall under these broad categories, including:

literature review: A literature review critically evaluates the body of writing already written about a certain subject. It entails locating, analysing, and synthesizing the pertinent literature to present a thorough overview of the subject field.

Meta-analysis: A meta-analysis is a statistical procedure that combines the findings of several studies to produce a more accurate assessment of the magnitude of an intervention’s or variable’s impact.

Systematic review: Reviewing the literature on a certain topic systematically is a disciplined and organized process in PhD dissertation . It entails formulating an inclusion and exclusion criterion, creating a research topic, then looking up and synthesizing the pertinent literature.

Content analysis: It is a technique for examining written or visual content to spot themes, patterns, and trends.

Historical analysis: Historical analysis is the process of looking at old records or artifacts to understand historical occurrences or social phenomena.

Recognizing these types of overconfidence bias can help individuals become more self-aware and take steps to reduce their impact on decision-making.

Secondary Research Benefits

Compared to primary research methods, there are numerous advantages of secondary research. First off, you can easily find dissertation help in UK . Second, because secondary research includes analyzing existing data rather than gathering new data, it frequently takes less time and costs less money than primary research. Second, by using a variety of sources and disciplines, secondary research can provide a topic with a broader perspective. Thirdly, by conducting secondary research, scholars can steer clear of duplicating prior findings or committing the same errors. Finally, by highlighting areas that need additional research, secondary research can serve as a foundation for subsequent studies.

Difficulties With Secondary Research

Secondary research has several drawbacks despite its benefits. First off, because it depends on the veracity and validity of the material that is already available, secondary research is frequently prone to bias. Second, the calibre and amount of the available types of secondary data may be a constraint for secondary research.

For instance, it could be challenging to reach meaningful conclusions if there is little or obsolete literature on a given subject or not the required Types of secondary data. Finally, because it may require examining a sizable amount of complicated and varied material, secondary research might be difficult to synthesize.

Guide To Conducting A Secondary Research

Here is the secondary research process in 4 steps describes briefly.

Step 2: Select Pertinent Sources

You must choose pertinent dissertation secondary sources after defining your study question. You can conduct secondary research using a range of sources, such as books, journals, online databases, and government papers. Finding answers to open-ended issues as a way of learning and/or developing new knowledge is a part of the research, in addition to simply acquiring information (Goddard, Melville, 2001).

There are many different search techniques you can employ to find relevant dissertation secondary sources. Using keywords related to your research subject to search internet databases and library catalogs is a typical strategy. You can also search for books and articles that are mentioned in the materials you’ve already found.

Step 3: Consider The Sources

After you have found probable sources, you must assess them to see if they are pertinent, trustworthy, and reliable. You can assess sources using a variety of factors, such as the author’s qualifications, the source’s publication date, and its reputation.

It’s crucial to remember that not all sources are created equal while examining them during creating dissertation using only secondary data. Other sources could be out-of-date or irrelevant to your research issue, while some could be prejudiced or unreliable. A source’s context should also be taken into account because it may have an impact on its credibility and applicability.

Step 4: Review And Combine Sources

Analysis and synthesis of the sources you have chosen are the last steps in secondary research. This entails carefully reading each source and making notes on the most important conclusions, points, and supporting details.

You should search for trends and connections among your sources as you study them when you are creating dissertation using only secondary data. Additionally, you should evaluate how the sources you have chosen support or refute your research question and thesis.

You can start combining your sources into a coherent argument after you have evaluated them. This entails determining the key ideas and points that are supported by your sources and utilizing them to strengthen your own argument.

A crucial step in writing a dissertation is conducting secondary research. You can create a compelling argument for your position and prove your subject-matter expertise by using a methodical strategy to locate, assess, and analyze information. You can do efficient secondary research that will aid in the creation of your dissertation by establishing your research question, discovering pertinent sources, assessing these sources, and analyzing and synthesizing your findings.

What Does Dissertation Secondary Research Entail?

How does secondary research for a dissertation get done.

  • Determine your research. This will assist you in locating the pertinent sources and information you require to respond to your research inquiry.
  • Select pertinent sources. Academic journals, publications, official reports, statistical databases, and other publicly accessible sources may be among them.
  • Assess the reliability and applicability of the sources. Look for reliable, current, and pertinent sources that address your research question.
  • Examine and assess the information. Consider how important themes and trends are related to your research question after identifying them.
  • Summarize the results. Think about how the results relate to the body of prior research on the subject.
  • Clearly cite all of your sources. Ensure that you offer comprehensive and correct information for each source, and adhere to the citation style that is advised by your school.

Which Four Kinds Of Secondary Research Are There?

  • Literature Review: In this sort of study, the current academic literature on a particular subject is reviewed
  • Data Analysis: To address a research topic, data analysis entails examining already-existing quantitative data, such as statistical data, survey results, or market research data.
  • Historical Research: To comprehend the historical background of a research subject, historical research entails examining current documents, archives, and other primary materials.
  • Case Study Research: To shed light on a research subject, case study research involves examining past case studies and frequently in-depth investigations of a certain company or circumstance.

Which Of The Secondary Research Examples Is The Best?

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Dissertation Secondary Research In 4 Steps Explained – Uniresearchers

Are you looking for a comprehensive guide on secondary research ? Well, yeah!! You have come to the right place to shed away all your worries. The topic of secondary and primary research appears to be challenging for the students that makes them anxious, nervous and worried at the same time. As a result, they end up getting poor scores and lower grades in academics. Please don’t be ashamed of it, because this is a very common problem faced by the students amidst their tiring long days jam-packed with classes, lectures, seminars, part-time jobs, etc. 

But let me tell you, secondary research is very simple than you have ever thought of. So here we have come to simplify the overall process of secondary research by completing it in just 4 steps. Want to know how? Here we go. 

Before getting into details, let us understand what exactly “ secondary research ” is. 

To be precise, secondary research refers to the collection of data from the existing research that has been conducted by others (Authors). In other words, secondary research indicates the “past data” that are usually collected from online or offline resources, government records, books, and journal articles pre-existing in the inventory. Secondary research goes exactly opposite to primary research where the main agenda is to conduct your research to collect raw and real-time data. The best part is, that secondary research saves a lot of time, effort and money in the process. To differentiate between the two, primary research is complicated enough which will consume a lot of time in finding the right participants who would provide the data findings to proceed with the research. 

Now, we shall go ahead with the process of secondary research in 4 simple steps. 

Step 1: You need to frame out your research questions 

Yes, correct!! Secondary research will begin with the framing of research questions right after you have settled on the topic of investigation. Now your job is to find the research gap in the literature that will create a strong base for framing the research questions. Once you are done with the research questions, you have almost created the correct roadmap for your research study. 

Step 2: Get the secondary data sets 

Majority of the research proceeds with identifying the secondary data sets in the literature, which are perfectly reusable and aid in addressing the research question more thoroughly. It is your duty to identify useful secondary data which will perfectly fit your research questions. 

Step 3: Simply evaluate the secondary dataset 

The criteria for evaluating the secondary dataset stand on the following metrics – 

  • Who collected the data 
  • What were the purpose and goal 
  • When and how the data was collected 
  • Type of data and its consistency with other data sources. 

All of these factors are essential for evaluating the secondary dataset because not always do the secondary data you have found appropriately align with the current research purpose. Moreover, the secondary datasets may lack the validity and reliability to answer your research questions.  Hence, needless to say, the collection of wrong secondary datasets can limit the effectiveness of your study. So never forget to evaluate the secondary datasets that you have planned to present in your research. 

Step 4: Prepare to analyze the secondary data 

In dissertation writing services , we follow this part religiously as it becomes the key part of the secondary research . Firstly, we outline the variables of interest and transfer this data into the Excel file or new SPSS. The next part would be addressing the missing data and recoding variables when necessary. For analyzing the data, we have to select the most suitable technique of analysis that can be through the use of statistical methods, thematic analysis, descriptive, etc. Make sure to be perfect on your part to avoid inconsistencies in the data analysis. 

If you find the facts are varying from one source to another, you must plan your primary research in the same context to get the facts correct using real-time raw data. 

Get your own checklist 

Hold on!! That’s not all!! With tremendous accessibility to the internet nowadays, the reliability and validity of secondary data have stooped down remarkably. So before utilizing external sources for secondary data, make a checklist to ensure the validity and accuracy of your secondary data. Be mindful, that failing to find the correct and valid data will lead you to inaccurate and poor analysis. 

So all you need to do is, be attentive and focused throughout the research study. 

Do you want our dissertation writing services? 

While we have reached almost the end of this article, let us give you some brief ideas about our dissertation writing services . With best-in-class experts in our kitty, we can offer you immense support and guidance in your primary and secondary research . Backed by a team of highly qualified professionals, we take pride in completing numerous dissertations so far. Apart from a perfectly crafted dissertation, we offer you multiple revisions at no cost. 

Our dissertation writing services come up with various other benefits in series. If you need any urgent assistance or support, our 24/7 support teams are always at your service. You must be thinking about how to place your order now. Well, it’s simpler than ever. Visit our website, fill out the order form with all the vital details, and make sure to specify the deadline to get an accurate response. Once your order is approved, we will assign you to the consultant who would lead your order. Trust me, your order for secondary research will be ready in a blink. Yes, it’s so much easy with us!! 

Now shed off your hesitation, and take a step ahead to place the order. Well, do not forget to check our client reviews and testimonials on our website for better clarity on our services. We ensure all the comfort and safety of our clients by maintaining absolute confidentiality. So hurry up and place your order right now to build a bright future.  

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How To Create A Dissertation Based On Secondary Research

You may be asked to craft a dissertation based on secondary research. This will require you to use different methods if compared to primary research. In order to conduct a proper study and write a strong thesis, you’ll need to follow a number of particular steps.

Crafting a Dissertation Based on Secondary Research

  • Pick a topic.

Selecting a topic for your paper, make sure to focus on something that won’t require you to conduct practical tests and experiments to get the needed results. If you have any difficulties during this step, approach your professor for advice.

  • Conduct a study.

Secondary research implies gathering data discovered by other authors in their studies and analyzing it to confirm or refute your own specific hypothesis. To find the studies to analyze, it’s recommended to use both your university database and the Internet.

  • Create an outline.

Once you’ve analyzed the found studies and answered the questions implied by your topic, you should start the writing process. In order to craft a paper with a strong structure, it’s recommended to outline each of its chapters and subchapters first. If you aren’t sure in the quality of your outline, visit your professor for a consultation.

  • Write a draft.

Having created a good outline, you should begin composing your paper following it. Writing the first draft, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The main thing is to make sure that each section of your paper serves a distinctive purpose and conveys the intended message.

  • Proofread and edit your paper.

Your draft should be revised several times so that you can spot and correct all your errors and get rid of weak or irrelevant sentences. Then, you should format your document according to the style used in your university.

The Features of Primary Research Dissertations

If your committee requires you to create a thesis based on primary research, you’ll have to do more than just analyze the works of other scholars. To achieve the goals implied by your topic, you’ll need to collect original data by conducting your own tests, experiments, interviews, etc. It might be difficult to select a proper methodology for this type of a study, so consult your professor before making any serious decisions.

Now that you have an idea of how to write a thesis based on secondary research, this task will be slightly easier for you to complete. Remember that writing your paper is only a part of your assignment. Defending your thesis successfully is necessary if you want the highest score.

You might select a bad topic, poorly structure your paper, use inappropriate writing techniques, and so on. Before you start working on your project, you should make sure that each of your step is proper. You can learn everything today.

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What are the Advantages & Disadvantages of Secondary Research?

dissertation based on secondary research only

Any project must go through the research process in order to gather specific information. Primary research is firsthand information, but on the other hand, secondary research acts as a guiding light, illuminating uncharted territories of knowledge. Like a beacon in the storm, it enables researchers to navigate the vast seas of information, tapping into existing resources to fuel their intellectual pursuits.

You can also view our following links:

Primary Research Methods: A Beginner's Guide

A Complete Guide: How to Write a Research Design

In this article, we will explore various types and examples of secondary research to inspire and guide aspiring researchers in formulating their own research queries.

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What is secondary research.

To define secondary research is the method of gathering and analysing existing data, information, and resources that others have already collected. It involves reviewing and synthesising the work of other researchers, scholars, experts, and organisations to gain insights, draw conclusions, or support a particular research objective.

How to Conduct Secondary Research

Secondary research is a valuable tool for gathering information from existing sources. To conduct effective secondary research, follow these steps for research. By following these steps, the researcher navigates the process of conducting secondary research efficiently and effectively, contributing to the existing body of knowledge and advancing your understanding of the research topic.

  • Define Research Objectives

 Clearly identify your research topic, questions, and objectives to ensure focused and relevant exploration.

  • Identify Relevant Sources

 Determine the most appropriate sources for your research, such as academic journals, books, databases, government reports, or reputable websites.

  • Conduct Literature Review

Review existing literature to comprehensively understand the topic, identify key theories, concepts, and gaps in knowledge.

  • Collect Data

 Extract relevant data from sources using methods like note-taking, summarizing, or using citation management tools for organized data collection.

  • Analyze and Interpret Data

Analyze the collected data using qualitative or quantitative techniques to draw meaningful insights and identify patterns or trends.

  • Compare and Synthesize Findings

Compare and synthesize the findings from different sources to identify commonalities, discrepancies, or emerging themes.

  • Evaluate Source Credibility

Assess the credibility and reliability of the sources by considering factors like author expertise, publication reputation, and data quality.

  • Document and Cite Sources

Properly document all sources used in your research and ensure accurate citation to maintain academic integrity and avoid plagiarism.

  • Draw Conclusions and Recommendations

 Based on the analysis of secondary data, draw informed conclusions and provide recommendations for further research or practical applications.

  • Communicate Findings

 Present your findings in a clear and organized manner through research reports, presentations, or academic papers.

Types of Secondary Research 

Secondary research, also known as desk research, refers to the process of gathering and analyzing existing data and information collected by others. It involves utilizing pre-existing sources to explore a specific topic or research question. Here are some common types with secondary research examples:

  • Literature Reviews

For secondary research collecting data via literature review that are existing scholarly articles, books, and publications related to the research topic. A literature review is a great way to evaluate the state of the research and demonstrates familiarity with the scholarly debates around the subject.

For example;

If your research interest lies in understanding the reactions of campus police to student protest movements on campus, conducting a comprehensive literature review can provide valuable insights. By examining scholarly works spanning the past century that discuss student protest movements, you can gain a broader understanding of the topic and identify recurring themes or patterns.

  • Case Studies

Examining previously conducted case studies to gain insights into specific situations, variables, and outcomes. When researching a difficult case study , you can decide whether to analyse only one instance in great detail if you'd want to compare various facets of your issue. 

For Example;

Suppose you wish to explore the acclimatization process of formerly incarcerated individuals. Analyze their experiences and narratives to develop a detailed case study of their reintegration into society.

  • Content Analysis

Analysing and interpreting existing content, such as media articles, social media posts, and online discussions, to gain insights into public opinion, trends, and sentiment. Depending on whether you want to analyse countable or quantifiable patterns or more interpretive ones, it is either quantitative or qualitative in nature.

 If your focus is on the frequency of employment issues in political campaigns during the Great Depression, you can employ content analysis techniques. 

  • Comparative Studies

Comparing and contrasting existing research studies and findings to identify commonalities, differences, and gaps in knowledge.

Comparing the impact of traditional lecture-based teaching and student-centered interactive learning on student learning outcomes.

The secondary research definition provides a valuable foundation for academic inquiry, offering a wealth of existing knowledge to build upon and contribute to the scholarly discourse. By leveraging these various types of secondary research, students can gain a comprehensive understanding of their chosen subjects and enhance their own research endeavours.

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Importance of Conducting Secondary Research

While it may not always be necessary to conduct secondary research for the research project. It is highly beneficial and often recommended in academic and research contexts. Here are a few reasons why secondary research is valuable:

  • Enhancing Knowledge

 Secondary research allows you to tap into existing knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of a subject. By reviewing relevant literature, data, and information collected by others, you build upon existing theories, concepts, and findings.

  • Time and Cost Efficiency

 Conducting primary research, which involves data collection from scratch, be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Secondary research offers a more efficient alternative by utilising pre-existing data and information, saving you time and reducing costs.

  • Access to a Wide Range of Sources

Secondary research enables you to explore a vast array of sources, including academic journals, books, reports, and databases. This wide range of materials allows for a comprehensive and diverse exploration of your research topic.

  • Validation and Verification

Secondary research allows you to validate and verify your own findings and arguments. By referencing established studies and scholarly work, you strengthen the credibility and reliability of your research.

  • Identifying Research Gaps

Secondary research helps you identify gaps in existing knowledge or areas where further investigation is needed. By examining previous studies, you uncover unanswered questions or areas that require additional research, which contribute to the advancement of your field.

  • Ethical Considerations

Conducting secondary research promotes ethical research practices, as it involves using already available data and respecting intellectual property rights. By properly citing and attributing sources, you demonstrate academic integrity and avoid plagiarism.

A primary research question may provide unique insights and data, but secondary research provides a broader context and a foundation to build on in support of primary research. By incorporating both primary and secondary research, you create a more comprehensive and well-rounded study.

Final Extraction

To cut it short, secondary research is a significant part of research writing. It refers to the secondary sources of data collection for research work. It includes literature reviews, case studies, comparative analysis of the available sources of information as compared to first hand or primary research. Time effectiveness and cost efficiency are some of its many benefits. This piece of writing has provided an essential information on how to conduct secondary research. 

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A comprehensive guide to desk-based research: unlocking secondary data sources.

A Comprehensive Guide to Desk-Based Research Unlocking Secondary Data Sources

Introduction

What is Desk-based research?

Desk research is a type of study based on material published in reports and similar materials available in public libraries, websites, data acquired from previously conducted surveys, and so on. Some businesses also keep data that can be utilized for the study. It is a research approach that uses already secondary data collection methods . These are gathered and summarized to improve the investigation’s overall efficacy.

Desk-based research, also known as secondary research, involves utilizing existing sources of information to gather data for your PhD thesis . This type of research can be a valuable complement to primary research, as it allows you to explore existing knowledge, gain insights, and support or refute existing theories.

Desk-based research examples:

Desk research is a popular alternative for businesses and organizations since it is a low-cost approach. Not everyone can afford to pay significant amounts of money to research design and gather data. That is why it is also known as “documentary research.”

Here’s a comprehensive guide to conducting desk-based research and unlocking secondary data sources for your PhD thesis:

  • Refine your research questions : Clearly define your research questions or objectives. This will help you focus your desk-based research efforts and identify the specific types of data you need to collect.
  • Identify relevant sources : Determine the types of sources that are most suitable for your research. These can include academic journals, books, conference proceedings, government reports, industry publications, statistical databases, websites, and other scholarly resources. Consider both online and offline sources.
  • Develop search strategies : Plan your search strategies to locate relevant information effectively. Start by creating a list of keywords and synonyms related to your research topic. Use these keywords to search databases, library catalogues, and search engines. Consider using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to effectively refine your searches and combine keywords.
  • Utilize academic databases : Academic databases such as JSTOR, PubMed , Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar are excellent resources for finding scholarly articles and papers. These databases allow you to search across various disciplines and access a wide range of academic publications.
  • Explore institutional libraries : Visit your university or other institutions to access books, thesis, dissertations , and other relevant materials. Librarians can guide you on using the library catalog effectively and help you navigate available resources.
  • Access government and organizational reports : Government agencies, research institutes, and organizations often publish reports, white papers, and studies that can provide valuable data and insights. To access these reports, visit relevant websites and explore their research or publications sections.

A Comprehensive Guide to Desk-Based Research Unlocking Secondary Data Sources

  • Evaluate source credibility : Assess the credibility and reliability of the sources you find. Consider factors such as the author’s expertise, the publication’s reputation, the presence of peer review, and the recency of the information. Use academic judgment to determine the trustworthiness of the sources.
  • Extract and organize data : Extract relevant data from the sources you collect. This can include quantitative data, qualitative findings, theories, arguments, or conceptual frameworks. Create a system to organize and store your extracted secondary data collection, such as a spreadsheet or a reference management tool like Zotero or Mendeley.
  • Check out our Sample data collection for the Project to see how the secondary data collection is constructed.
  • Analyze and synthesize the data : Analyze the secondary data in the research methodology you have gathered and synthesize the information to support your research questions. Identify patterns, themes, and gaps in the existing literature . Compare and contrast different viewpoints and theories, and critically evaluate the strength of the evidence.
  • Integrate secondary data with primary research: If you are conducting primary research alongside your desk-based research, integrate the types of secondary data collection into your analysis. Use the secondary data to provide context, compare findings, or support your arguments.
  • Cite and reference your sources : Properly cite and reference all the sources you have used in your desk-based research methodology dissertation. Follow the appropriate citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) as per your institution’s guidelines. Maintain accurate records of your references to avoid plagiarism and facilitate the writing of your thesis.

Desk-based research provides a foundation of knowledge and can significantly enhance the quality and depth of your PhD thesis. However, it is important to balance secondary research with primary research to contribute original insights and perspectives to your field of study.

  • Check out our study guide to learn more about Secondary data collection. How to collect data for your PhD Thesis?

Qualitative desk-based research leverages existing data sources to access diverse information without primary data collection . Researchers gain insights into historical trends, longitudinal studies, and cross-comparisons by analyzing academic journals, government reports, industry publications, and online databases. However, caution must be exercised to ensure data credibility and relevance. Skilled researchers can make well-founded, evidence-based conclusions in any field.

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Ph.D. Assistance is completely aware that data collecting is the most critical phase in doing research and can significantly impact the results or conclusion. Our global staff of PhD experts assists you in data collecting based on the study topic and data source. Because PhD experts from across the world educate our data-collecting staff, their implicit and explicit expertise has enabled them to gather any survey (personal interview, mail, in-house), focus groups, etc. and translate it into a more accessible format, therefore assisting decision-making.

  • Guerin, Benoit, Barbara Janta, and Anke van Gorp. “Desk-based research and literature review.”  Evaluating interventions that prevent or counter violent extremism 63 (2018).
  • Bassot, Barbara.  Doing qualitative desk-based research: a practical guide to writing an excellent dissertation . Policy Press, 2022.
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PhD Assistance | Blog

Secondary Research for your Dissertation

A dissertation or thesis research project requires a significant amount of research, with secondary research a necessity for any paper. The secondary research may be undertaken to create the theoretical foundation for the dissertation with the produce the literature review, and it may also be used as an alternative to primary research.

Defining Secondary Research

To examine the use of secondary researchit is first necessary to differentiate secondary from primary research. Primary research occurs where a researcher designs a research project and then collects the results directly from the original sources and can control the collection of the data. Secondary data is data that has already been collected by other researchers in previous research projects and is accessed through existing publications. Examples of secondary sources include;

  • Publications such as journal articles and books
  • Conferences papers/proceedings
  • Television and radio broadcasts
  • Past dissertations
  • Official/government reports
  • Company accounts or other internal organizational reports

The Uses of Secondary Research in a Dissertation

The first use of secondary research in a dissertation is to create the literature review. The literature review is based purely on secondary research, drawing together articles on topics relevant to the main topic. When undertaking secondary research, the review should include secondary research drawing on the empirical research that developed or established the theories that will be applied in the research. Good research will also include additional research reviewing and testing the theories to provide a balanced approach. Secondary research may also be undertaken at the principle research approach as an alternative primary research. When performed in place of primary research, the research methodology will be based on using data collected and published by others and reanalysing, reinterpreting, or reviewing the data.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Research

The use of secondary research can be advantageous as it is more cost-effective, the data may be more easily accessed, which reduce the time scale and budget needed for the research to be completed. However, secondary research also has some disadvantages. The data is unlikely to be a perfect match for the dissertation planned as the collection was undertaken by a different researcher who may have been answering a different research question, The data may also require reformatting and the detail of the data may be lacking, requiring the correlation of different data sets, or reformulation of the research question.

The Secondary Research Process

The research process using secondary sources may be divided into four stages.

  • Formulate the research question. This will usually require a review of available literature to identify and narrow down an area of research which may be undertaken using secondary data.
  • Identify the secondary data set that can be used to answer the research question.
  • Assess the suitability of the available secondary data, including the degree to which it is aligned with the research question and the quality of the research process which generated the data. Identify alternate or more data if it is needed to increase the robustness of the study
  • Prepare and then analyse the secondary data in line with the chosen analytical techniques with the aim of answering the research question

Notably, while secondary research may be used in place of primary research, there is also the potential to use it in conjunction with or as a supplement to primary research.

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  1. Write Your Dissertation Using Only Secondary Research

    Write Your Dissertation Using Only Secondary Research. November 2020 by Keira Bennett. Writing a dissertation is already difficult to begin with but it can appear to be a daunting challenge when you only have other people's research as a guide for proving a brand new hypothesis! You might not be familiar with the research or even confident in ...

  2. Primary vs Secondary Research

    Research "own" the data collected. Research is based on data collected from previous researches. Primary research is based on raw data. Secondary research is based on tried and tested data which is previously analysed and filtered. The data collected fits the needs of a researcher, it is customised.

  3. What is Secondary Research?

    Revised on January 12, 2024. Secondary research is a research method that uses data that was collected by someone else. In other words, whenever you conduct research using data that already exists, you are conducting secondary research. On the other hand, any type of research that you undertake yourself is called primary research.

  4. How To Do Secondary Research or a Literature Review

    Secondary research is also essential if your main goal is primary research. Research funding is obtained only by using secondary research to show the need for the primary research you want to conduct. In fact, primary research depends on secondary research to prove that it is indeed new and original research and not just a rehash or replication ...

  5. How to do your dissertation secondary research in 4 steps

    Methods and purposes of secondary research. Types of secondary data. Sources of secondary data. Secondary research process in 4 steps. Step 1: Develop your research question (s) Step 2: Identify a secondary data set. Step 3: Evaluate a secondary data set. Step 4: Prepare and analyse secondary data. Summary.

  6. How to Write a Dissertation

    The structure of a dissertation depends on your field, but it is usually divided into at least four or five chapters (including an introduction and conclusion chapter). The most common dissertation structure in the sciences and social sciences includes: An introduction to your topic. A literature review that surveys relevant sources.

  7. PhD Thesis with Secondary Data in 4 Steps

    Secondary data collection in 4 steps. 1. Frame your Research Question. Secondary research starts exactly like any research: by building up your research question (s). For the Research Proposal, you are frequently given a particular research question by your guide. Yet, for most different sorts of examination, and mainly if you are doing your ...

  8. What are the challenges in doing a dissertation using only a secondary

    Secondary research (SR) is a type of investigation that utilizes systematic inquiry in which a researcher relies exclusively on existing data. SR design entails compiling, collating, and ...

  9. Dissertations 4: Methodology: Methods

    Disadvantages: •Can be quite extensive to conduct, requiring a lot of time and resources. •Sometimes one primary research method is not enough; therefore a mixed method is require, which can be even more time consuming. Disadvantages: •It is necessary to check the credibility of the data. •May not be as up to date.

  10. Secondary Research

    Secondary research which goes beyond literature reviews. For some dissertations/major projects there might only be a literature review (discussed above).For others there could be a literature review followed by primary research and for others the literature review might be followed by further secondary research.. You may be asked to write a literature review which will form a background ...

  11. PDF A Complete Dissertation

    dissertation. Reason The introduction sets the stage for the study and directs readers to the purpose and context of the dissertation. Quality Markers A quality introduction situates the context and scope of the study and informs the reader, providing a clear and valid representation of what will be found in the remainder of the dissertation.

  12. Literature based, primary and secondary research dissertations

    In a secondary research dissertation, you do not collect your own data. Instead, you use data that has been collected by another researcher. You take that data and do your own analysis of it.. Someone else has collected the data, but you do the analysis of it. For example, you might be interested in exploring differences in beliefs and values around diversity in different European countries ...

  13. Conducting secondary analysis of qualitative data: Should we, can we

    Concerns about secondary data analysis when using qualitative data. The primary concerns about SDA with qualitative data surround rigor and ethics from a number of stakeholder perspectives, including research participants, funders, and the researchers themselves. Heaton (2004) suggests that a strength of secondary analysis of qualitative data ...

  14. A Four-Step Guide to Conducting Secondary Research For Your Dissertation

    Here is the secondary research process in 4 steps describes briefly. Step 2: Select Pertinent Sources. You must choose pertinent dissertation secondary sources after defining your study question. You can conduct secondary research using a range of sources, such as books, journals, online databases, and government papers.

  15. Dissertation Secondary Research In 4 Steps Explained

    Now, we shall go ahead with the process of secondary research in 4 simple steps. Step 1: You need to frame out your research questions . Yes, correct!! Secondary research will begin with the framing of research questions right after you have settled on the topic of investigation. Now your job is to find the research gap in the literature that ...

  16. Secondary Qualitative Research Methodology Using Online Data within the

    In addition to the challenges of secondary research as mentioned in subsection Secondary Data and Analysis, in current research realm of secondary analysis, there is a lack of rigor in the analysis and overall methodology (Ruggiano & Perry, 2019). This has the pitfall of possibly exaggerating the effects of researcher bias (Thorne, 1994, 1998 ...

  17. Secondary Data in Research

    This research employs mixed qualitative and quantitative methods (Onwuegbuzie and Johnson, 2006), and it is strongly based on secondary data (Martins et al., 2018). In order to obtain data from ...

  18. Writing A Dissertation Based On Secondary Research

    Now that you have an idea of how to write a thesis based on secondary research, this task will be slightly easier for you to complete. Remember that writing your paper is only a part of your assignment. Defending your thesis successfully is necessary if you want the highest score. If you have no clue how to complete a thesis paper based on ...

  19. Conducting secondary analysis of qualitative data: Should we, can we

    Scholars have also promoted the practice of sharing data for the purpose of SDA, asserting that it may answer new research questions, as well as increase sample sizes and statistical power (Perrino et al., 2013).Sharing data also allows for the generation of new knowledge without the costs of administration and implementation of additional data collection and maximizes the output of large ...

  20. What is Secondary Research?

    Secondary research is a valuable tool for gathering information from existing sources. To conduct effective secondary research, follow these steps for research. By following these steps, the researcher navigates the process of conducting secondary research efficiently and effectively, contributing to the existing body of knowledge and advancing ...

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    A Comprehensive Guide to Desk-Based Research: Unlocking Secondary Data Sources. Secondary data sources available to researchers include academic journals, government papers, industry publications, and online databases. These sources offer enormous knowledge, allowing for insights into previous patterns, longitudinal research, and comparisons of ...

  22. Secondary Research for your Dissertation. Developing a Thesis

    The first use of secondary research in a dissertation is to create the literature review. The literature review is based purely on secondary research, drawing together articles on topics relevant to the main topic. When undertaking secondary research, the review should include secondary research drawing on the empirical research that developed ...

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    Aluminum alloy 6082-T6 is an important material for manufacturing the outer skin of high-speed trains, and laser shock forming can realize the rapid forming of complex-shaped plates. In order to improve the efficiency of the simulation modeling of laser shock forming for aluminum alloy 6082-T6, Python scripting language was used for the secondary development of Abaqus. A plugin was utilized to ...